


A Father, a Daughter, a Life-coach and three ghosts move into a house

by nimara



Category: Beetlejuice - All Media Types, Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown & King
Genre: Beetlejuice The Musical, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Funny, beetlejuice & Lydia friendship, english is not my first language, musical verse, so I'm sorry for any grammatical mistakes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2020-03-02 15:58:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 39,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18814204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nimara/pseuds/nimara
Summary: A collection of one-shots from the Beetlejuice Musical verse! It will be mostly Charles/Delia (because I love them)1. A games of chess2. You're not stupid3. Vincent the cat4. Wedding dresses5. Tumblr prompt : "After everything we've been through, you still don't think that I love you?"6. Tumblr prompt : "Don't cry"7. Sick Day8. Family9. The Dinner10. Harry Potter AU11. Get to know each other12. The ghost and the life coach13. Blackout14. Painting15. Highschool AU16. Soulmate AU17. Plus One18. Equals Seven19. Uncle Beetlejuice20. Minus One21. Buy More Crystals22. Rainbow23. Pregnancy24. Opposite Attract25. Innocent tears26. Pokemon AU27. Worry : Delia doesn’t come home. Charles worries.





	1. A game of chess

**Author's Note:**

> Delia and Charles play a game of chess!  
> Set about 2 years after the musical. Charles and Delia are married.

When Delia got home she was surprised to be greeted by silence. Usually the house was buzzing with its 6 inhabitants (including 3 ghosts).  
Deposing the groceries in the kitchen, the life coach suddenly heard the voice of her step-daughter coming from the living room.  
“Oh my god! I can’t believe you won again!”  
“You only have one chance left Lydia!” Charles told the teenager.  
Curious Delia joined them.  
“What are you guys doing?”  
“I bet with dad that if I beat him at a game of chess he would let me go see that scary movie with my friends tonight” whined Lydia gesturing to the board set on the table between them.  
“Yes! I gave her five tries but she already lost four games!” Charles interrupted obviously happy to be winning.  
Delia remembered that Charles had told her that he was part of the chess club in his high school and was “one of the best” according to him.  
The redhead suddenly got an idea.  
“What do you say if I play the last game for you?” She asked Lydia. The teen looked suprised for a moment but sighed  
“I have already lost anyway so” she got up and gestured to her seat “be my guest”.  
Delia took place in front of her husband who had a smug smile plastered on his face.  
“Are you sure you even know how to play chess, honey?”  
“Of course I do!” She huffed. Looking down at the board she frowned. “Can you just remind me what this piece does?”  
“That’s the queen. It’s the most powerful piece in the game. It can go in any directions.” Charles answered and with a small laugh he added “Are you sure you want to do this?”  
“Yes let’s get started! «Delia said clapping her hand.  
After a few seconds of silence, Charles gestured to the board "Well Delia?” At the confused look his wife gave him he added “you have the whites, so you start!”  
“Oh yeah right!” Delia said moving one of her piece.  
“I’m never going to see that movie” muttered Lydia as she watched the adults move their pieces one after the other.  
“That’s life Lydia! I was a chess champion in high school no one in this house can beat me.”  
Grabbing her bishop Delia looked up at the man with a slight smirk,  
“Oh I wouldn’t be so confident if I were you, my love” making her move she happily exclaimed “Check-mate!”  
Both father and daughter looked at the board in surprise. After a moment of silence Lydia burst out laughing  
“Bahaha! I can’t believe she beat you!” Turning to her step-mother “that was awesome Delia!”  
“Well one of my best friend in high school was a real chess champion and she taught me how to play!” But before she could even finish her sentence, the teenager was already climbing up the stairs  
“I’m going to get ready!”  
Delia turned toward her husband and was surprised to see him smiling at her. Flustered by the look he was giving her she felt a blush spread to her cheeks.  
“What?”  
To answer Charles leaned over the table to capture her lips in a kiss.  
“You are amazing Delia Deetz. Remind me to never underestimate you.”  
“I’ll make sure of that” she told him with a smile.


	2. You're not stupid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charles is angry and says something he regrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little more angsty. Because I like to hurt my favorite characters.  
> Also trigger warning : allusion of past psychological abuse.

« Lydia! You listen to me now! I’m sick of you not listening! You’re not going out with Allison tonight unless your grades improve and you start being serious about school! »  
The argument had started only a few minutes ago but already Lydia and Charles were screaming at each other at the top of their lungs.  
« Maybe if I could go out more and have fun I wouldn’t be so bad at school because I’d be able to decompress once in a while! But you never understand dad! »  
Before Charles could respond, Delia’s voice interrupted them:  
« You know Charles maybe she’s right. Let her go out tonight she had it planned for weeks. And tomorrow I’ll help her with her homework and she’ll work harder »  
“Oh my god Delia! Can’t you see she’s manipulating you! Always finding excuses and using you! You’re so gullible. It’d be easier for everyone if you used what’s between your hears once in a while! » He regretted it the moment the words left his mouth.  
The room had gone completely silent. Even Lydia had stop arguing and was just looking at her dad with wide eyes. But it was the look on Delia’s face that made Charles feel awful about what just happened. The redhead looked like she had been slapped and tears were forming in her eyes. She took a shaky breath and forced a smile on her face.  
« I’m sorry. I’m going to… just… I’m going to go outside for a bit »  
And with that the older woman went for the front door leaving daughter and father alone once more. After a moment of silence, Lydia finally spoke.  
« You really messed up this time dad. » and with that said, she proceed to go to her room.  
Charles stood in the middle of the kitchen for a moment not knowing what to do before deciding to find Delia.  
She hadn’t gotten far. When Delia opened the door she realized it was raining. So she just sat on the steps of the porch.  
Take a deep breath Delia, take a deep breath. Her vision was clouded with tears and she just squeezed her eyes shut trying to block the voices starting to form in her head.  
« How did we end up with such a stupid daughter?! » her father, «Delia? Yeah she’s pretty but she’s completely stupid » one of her ex-boyfriend; « You will never pass my class, you’re too stupid to understand » her science teacher. « God do I have to explain everything to you?! » another boyfriend, « No wonder everybody abandons you, they don’t want of a stupid girl in their life ».  
She had never meant harm to anyone. She just wanted to help. She wanted to find her place, somewhere where she belongs. And she thought she had finally found it with the Deetzes. She loved Charles and Lydia, was good friend with Adam and Barbara and had even learned to tolerate that ghost who decided to live with them without asking for permission. But now what? What if Charles decided to break up with her? What was she going to do? She had nowhere else to go. It was starting to get hard to breath.  
Her thought were interrupted by an arm wrapping around her shoulders. She looked up to see Charles sitting down next to her. He opened his mouth to speak but Delia interrupted him  
“You want the ring back, right?” as much as it pained her she started to take off her engagement ring but Charles quickly covered her hand with his own.  
“What?! No! God Delia why would I want the ring back?!” He looked shocked. Delia was confused now and couldn’t help but ask in small voice  
“You’re not breaking up with me? But I’m stupid…”  
“No you’re not!” he replaced the ring where it belonged and linked their fingers. “You’re not stupid Delia. I didn’t mean what I said. I was angry and stressed by my business meeting, and I took it out on you when I had no right to”. Still seeing the doubt in her eyes he couldn’t help but take her in his arms and was surprised when the life coach melted in his embrace.  
“I love you” he muttered after placing a kiss on her forehead. “And I’m sorry. Please forgive me”.  
Delia slowly pulled out of the hug and Charles was relieved to see a small smile on her face.  
“Okay. And I love you too.” He had barely the time to capture her lips in a kiss that the raspy voice of Beetlejuice came booming from inside the house.  
“HEY CHUCK!! NO ONE HURTS DONNA EXCEPT ME!!”  
And before any of the adults could react, Charles’s skin and hair suddenly became bright pink.  
Delia couldn’t stifle a laugh as Charles suddenly got up,  
“Beetlejuice! I have a business meeting in an hour get me back to normal” He yelled marching toward the living room.  
“Not unless you apologize!”  
“I already did!”  
“Not to me!”  
“What?! What is it about?! Beetlejuice get me back to normal now!”  
Delia couldn’t help but smile and finally got up to get back in the house with her crazy new family. She wouldn’t have any other way.


	3. Vincent the Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia brings home a cat. It goes as well as you can expect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is born from UrsaKursa who originated the idea on the BJ server! Most of the elements in this chapter are from the collective remarks on the server!

** Vincent the cat **

Lydia had a hard time making friends at her new school. After spending the last few months in company of two ghosts and a demon everyone just seemed so boring. This was becoming a problem. Lydia seemed really lonely and the adults had agreed that having “normal” friends would be a good thing for the teenager. That’s what had pushed them to hold an “emergency meeting” in the living room. Even Beetlejuice had been invited.

“So we all agree that Lydia needs a normal friend to help her go through school.” Announced Charles once everyone was seated. He was pretty sure that he heard Beetlejuice muttered something that strongly seemed like “normal is for suckers.” But he decided to ignore it.   
Barbara raised her hand before speaking:

“Yes but it’s not like we can force her into liking another kid and becoming friend with them.”

“I’ve read somewhere that having a pet can help.” Delia added.

“I didn’t know you could read Deborah.” deadpanned Beetlejuice, earning a glare from the life coach.

“It’s actually a pretty good idea!” agreed Adam, “I had a pet rock as a kid. It was nice to have someone, well in this case something, to speak to.”

“Your childhood makes me sad.” The green demon said in his direction, before adding “I had a pet too as a child.”

“Really?” asked Charles, shocked that someone like Beetlejuice had a pet. He felt sorry for the creature that had to live with him.

“Yeah! A scorpion. He ran away. At least that’s what my mom told me…”

After a moment of silence, Charles spoke once again “Okay… I think a pet might be a good idea actually. But we’re not getting her a rock or a scorpion.”

“Why not something exotic! I’ve heard cockatoos are very friendly!” proposed Delia.

“No. Birds are messy and loud.” countered Charles.

“Yeah Donna! After all we already have you for the chit-chat part.” Once again the demon earned a glare for the redhead.

“How about a dog? It’s cute and friendly.” Barbara weighed in, wanting to avoid another Delia/Beetlejuice verbal fight.

But before anyone else could add something, the front door opened and Lydia walked in.

“What are you guys doing? Starting a cult?” She asked.

“Ah Lydia! It’s great that you’re home we wanted to ask you, what do you think about getting…” Charles started before noticing the black shape that the teenager was holding in her arms, “What is that?”

A smile appeared on Lydia’s face as she extended her arms revealing a black cat.

“I found him on the streets! He seemed lonely. And look how cute it is?”

Truth to be told, it was probably the most hideous cat any person in the room had ever seen. Entirely black, that cat looked like it had gone in the washing machine a couple of times. Its fur was a mess. But the most peculiar thing about the animal was the look on its face. It looked as if everything in the world deserved to be hated, including the five adults still seated around the table. The yellow eyes had decided to set on Adam as if he was the most revolting thing in the world.

“It looks like it can see us.” He whispered to his wife, feeling very uneasy under the felines glare.

But already Lydia started gushing about the animal. “I named him Vincent.” She turned toward her father, “Please can we keep him?”

Charles hesitated. He looked at the others. Beetlejuice had somehow already disappeared, probably preparing his next prank. Barbara smiled politely, not wanting to upset Lydia even if the cat looked like it was ready to murder every single one of them. Adam was petrified under the felines glare. When he turned to Delia she shrugged.

“Well you wanted her to get a pet. Why not a cat?” she said.

Charles sighed and turned toward his daughter and “Vincent”, who was still fixing poor Adam.

“Okay. You can keep him. But you’ll have to take care of him.”

“Thank you so much dad!” Lydia exclaimed before running to her room the pet still in her arms.

************

Over the next few weeks, they discovered that Vincent didn’t just look like he hated the entire world. The cat _actually_ hated the entire world. Lydia seemed to be the only one who could pet or touch him. Every time someone else would try they would be sure to end up with some nasty scratch marks.

Beetlejuice seemed to find hilarious that Vincent wanted to claw his eyes out end often ended up fighting with him for fun. The Maitlands were actually the ones the cat seemed to like the most after Lydia. He would just seat somewhere and glare at them for the rest of the day. However, Vincent discovered a shared passion with his young mistress, which was to scare Delia. If the feline was gone for more than ten minutes you would be sure that he was somewhere, waiting for the life coach to open the door of the closet or even the dryer he had decided to hide in.

But the cat seemed to have a particular hatred toward Charles. He would just find the right way to annoy the man almost every day. Charles had come to avoid the rooms the cat was in. He had even thought he had lost his mind when for an entire week he saw the cat in two different rooms at the same time. He had realized after a few days that Beetlejuice would transform into a black cat just to annoy the business man.

One night, Charles woke up with the need to use the bathroom. He carefully untangled himself from Delia and made is way to the nearest bathroom as silently as he could to avoid waking everyone up. But when he arrived in front of the door he had the strange feeling that someone was watching him. Turning around, he jumped and clutched his chest when he saw the pair of glowing yellow eyes watching him from the darkness.

“Stupid cat.” He groaned before entering the bathroom.

When he got out, the Vincent was gone. He made his way toward his bedroom and had his second almost heart attack in a few minutes after opening the door and finding the same pair of yellow eyes watching him from the bed.

“How did you get in?” He whispered to the cat, not wanting to wake Delia who was still sound asleep.

He tried to approach Vincent to get him of the bed but the feline immediately growled and bared his teeth in warning.

“Listen, this is my bed and I’d like to go back to sleep!”

“What’s going on?” Delia asked in a sleepy voice. However, the sleep fade very quickly when she found herself face to face with Vincent. With a little scream, the redhead proceed to immediately fall off the bed.

For the next twenty minutes, the couple tried to get the cat off their bed. But after a few scratches each, they quickly decided that it was a lost cause.

“Now what?” asked Charles as they stoop in the doorway, watching that demon of a cat who didn’t seem like it would leave their bed anytime soon.

“I guess we can sleep in the guest room.” Said Delia, practically falling asleep on her feet.

She grabbed some extra pillows before making her way to the room right next to theirs. Charles pointed a finger at the cat who was still watching him:

“You’ve won this round but be certain that it’s never going to happen again”. He glared once more at the animal before turning around to follow Delia to the guest room. Maybe it was due to the lack of sleep but, he could have sworn that he had seen a victorious smile on Vincent’s face.


	4. Wedding Dresses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia and Delia go shopping for the perfect wedding dress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to write some kind of Delia and Lydia bonding moment.

** Wedding dresses. **

Lydia hated her new school. She hadn’t managed to make any friends and the other kids were just being jerks. She had been called a witch and a weirdo a few times already this week. And it was only Wednesday. But Wednesdays were great because she didn’t have any classes in the afternoon. As soon as the bell ranged, she made her way home. At least at home she had her family. Soon the little house at the top of the hill came into view and Lydia immediately felt relieved at the idea of getting back in her room. If Beetlejuice was around, she might even be able to convince him to have some fun, like scaring Delia.

Lydia opened the door but before she could do anything else, Delia’s voice rose from the living room.

“Lydia is that you?”

The teenager couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Since the whole “Beetlejuice incident” Lydia had gotten closer to her future stepmother. Delia was nice. But she was too…. Bright. She was so different than her mother that she sometimes asked herself how her dad fell in love with her. Delia quickly made her way toward Lydia, wearing a bright pink and purple dress. It was one of her favorites. With a smile the redhead stopped in front of her.

“How was school?”

“The usual.” Sighed Lydia.

Delia frowned before putting her hands on the teen shoulders.

“Don’t worry! I’m sure it’s going to get better. Afterall, making friends is like making fine wine, you have to wait the right amount of time before it gets good.”

Even if the “as my guru Otho always say” had disappear from the woman’s vocabulary, strange sentences, like this one, definitely had not.

“Maybe.” Answered Lydia, trying to be polite.

A smile immediately returned on the life-coach face and she clapped her hands together. This was never a good sign.

“I was thinking!”

“Don’t hurt yourself” Lydia interrupted, earning herself a glare before Delia continued,

“I’m going to go shopping this afternoon for my wedding dress and I’d love it if you’d come with me.”

Delia and Charles’s wedding was only a month away and the household was buzzing with all the planning and preparations.

“Why me?” asked the teen. Wondering why Delia would want fashion advice from her.

“Well your father is not home right now, and Adam and Barbara can’t leave the house so it’s only you and me! And I think it could be fun! You and me! Trying on dresses. Well of course I’d be the one trying on the dresses but it doesn’t matter!”

Lydia was already getting a headache. But looking in the pleading eyes of Delia she couldn’t help but say yes. Afterall she had nothing better to do. No friends to go out with.

“Alright I’ll go with you. But we got get ice cream after!”

“Yay! Let’s go!” The life coach happily exclaimed, dragging the teenager to the car.

***************

The ride to go to town was short and soon they had arrived at the wedding outfits shop. A smiling woman was waiting inside and immediately went to work trying to find the “perfect dress” for Delia. It hadn’t been five minutes yet and Lydia was already bored.

“Why did I agree to do this?” She muttered to herself as Delia started trying on dresses.

She sat on the little stool for what seemed like hours giving her opinion on the dresses. “This one’s to fluffy”, “this one is too tight”, “this one looks like the one that clown we saw at the circus was wearing”. The pile of dresses that were no good was getting bigger and bigger and only one dress made it in the “maybe” pile.

There weren’t many dresses to try on left, thank god.

“I really like this one.” Delia said as she got out of the fitting room.

The dress was beautiful. It wasn’t as white as the other one and was more of a cream color complimenting Delia’s fair skin perfectly. The bodice was made out lace with complicated pattern. It was tight enough so you could see her curves but not too tight like it would rip at any moments. The small laced sleeves fell perfectly on Delia’s shoulders. It seemed like it was made for her.

“Woah. This one looks really good Delia.” Said Lydia.

It just fitted perfectly. The dress was a nice mixed of classy and simple and almost looked like something straight out of Delia’s closet. Lydia observed the woman looking at herself in the mirror, gushing over the dress. But, as the shop owner went to fetch some stuff to make adjustments, the pure happiness faded from Delia’s expression, surprising Lydia.

“Are you alright?” She asked the life-coach.

“Yes! Of course! I mean, I’m getting married and this dress is perfect!” but the forced smile disappeared with a sigh. “It’s just,” she hesitated before continuing, “I’ve never been this happy. But every single time I’ve been happy something went wrong. So… I guess I’m just scared to lost what I’ve found with your dad and you.”

Lydia was surprised by the confession. She slowly stood from the stool and made her way next to Delia, watching their reflection in the mirror.

“I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Dad loves you. I can tell. You make him happy.”, a small smile appeared on the woman’s face.

“And,” Lydia hesitated. God, she wasn’t good with feelings. Something she shared with her father. After a small silence she finally added, “I know that you were paid to care about me and that I wasn’t very nice to you but, I’m glad we’ve became real friends.”

She turned to face Delia. By seeing the look on her face, Lydia was scared the life-coach was going to start crying. But she suddenly found herself drawn in a bone crushing hug. After giving her future stepmother a few awkward pats on the back, she heard her murmuring a small “thank you”.

They ended the hug and Delia went back in fitting room to take the dress off. After making some notes about the adjustments necessary for the dress, Lydia and Delia made their way out of the store.

“Now let’s get some ice cream!” said Delia in her usual cheery manner.

As they started to walk in the direction of the ice cream shop, Lydia noticed something on Delia’s shoulder.

“Hey Delia.”

“Yes?”

“You have a bug on your shoulder.”

With a scream, the redhead started flailing her arms in an attempt to swat the poor insect away.

“Where is it?! Is it gone?! Get it off of me!”

Lydia burst out laughing. Maybe everything was going to be alright. Afterall, she had at least one friend to help her get through life.


	5. Tumblr prompt: “After everything we’ve been through, you still don’t think that I love you ? »

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr prompt : “After everything we’ve been through, you still don’t think that I love you ? »

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A prompt that was suggested to me by Blossem12!  
> My tumblr is :nimarasnetherworld

Delia sat on the edge of the bed. It had been a long day. Lydia had gotten married to a demon and then killed him. Two ghosts now lived with them and it had been revealed that Otho was nothing but a fraud.

  
Her heart sank thinking about her former “guru”. She had trusted Otho, admired him even, only to realize that she had been taken advantage of. Again. Thinking back about it, it was so obvious. Yet, she had been an idiot. Like always. Well at least she had Charles and Lydia. The thought of them brought a small smile on her face.

  
The life coach had never been as happy as when Lydia finally welcomed her in the family. She had been surprised that it wasn’t Charles who tried to stop her. But so happy that it had been Lydia. Delia was fond of the teenager. She was glad the relationship between Charles and his daughter was finally getting better.   
  
Charles. The thought of him was enough to make her heart beat faster. She had never imagined that meeting the Deetzes would change her life so fast. Biting her lip, Delia looked down at the ring on her finger. It was a simple yet beautiful ring. But after all the things that happened today she was starting to ask herself some questions. Does Charles really want to marry her? Or did he just proposed because he wanted to forget his grief? Does Charles actually love her?

  
She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t hear her fiancé walk into the bedroom.   
“Well what a day.” Charles sighed, seating next to her.  
“Tell me about it.” Delia answered with a small laugh.  
She turned her head to take a look at him. Charles was a handsome man. But right now he looked tired. Like he could fall asleep at any moment. It had been a hard day for everyone. He wrapped an arm around her and she couldn’t help but stiffen at the contact. Charles frowned,

  
“Are you alright Delia?”

  
“Yes of course I…” but the words slowly died on her lips when she looked into his concerned eyes. She took a deep breath. “Actually I don’t really know.” The arm around her tightened and this time she let herself being brought against Charles’s side

.  
“What’s wrong?” he asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

  
“I… it’s just…” God she didn’t even know how to start. With a sigh she continued, “I’m so happy that I’ve finally found a family. But I’m scared. I’m scared that once again I’m going to be sent away.” At that point she got up, pacing in the small room, “I trusted Otho and looked what happened! I love you and Lydia but you two finally made up. You don’t need me anymore and I’m scared of the moment when you’ll realize that.” She turned toward a stunned Charles, “Do you really want to marry me? Or was the proposal just so that you could look good in front of Maxine. Because I swear Charles, if you don’t love me and this is all pretend…. I’d rather know now.” Her voice cracked, “I don’t think I can go through this again.”

  
Charles looked at her with wide eyes. Was it really what she was thinking? He quickly got up from the bed and went to stand in front of her.  
“Delia. After everything we’ve been through, you still don’t think that I love you?” he asked.   
But looking into her warm brown eyes, Charles realized that it wasn’t what was bothering her. She had been betrayed by people she loved before. By people she trusted. The question wasn’t only if he loved her. The real question was “I love you and I trust you. Are you going to be like all the other people I loved and trusted and throw me away the moment you don’t want me anymore?”

  
Charles slowly wrapped his arm around her waist, bringing her against him as he used his free hand to cup her cheek.

  
“Delia, I meant what I said when I proposed. You’ve helped me get through something I never thought I’d be able to overcome. I love you. I really do. And nothing would make me happier than to marry you. I want to share my life with you. For as long as you want me.”

  
The life coach could see in his eyes that he was sincere. She let herself fall against his chest, resting her head on his heart. She couldn’t help but feel safe with his arms wrapped securely around her.

  
They stood like that for a few minutes before Delia finally looked up. Charles was relieved to see a small smile on her face

.  
“I love you.” She said

.  
“I love you too.”

  
Charles leaned down to kiss her. He tried to pour his feelings for her in a slow and passionate kiss. They broke apart and Charles couldn’t help but admire how beautiful Delia was. He ran his hand down her sides.

  
“You know, there’s another good thing we can take away from this whole “Beetlejuice” thing.”

  
“Really? What?” Delia asked, confused.

  
Charles smirked, “Well now that Lydia knows about us you can sleep in my bed!”

  
Delia dissolved into giggles as he picked her up and threw her onto the bed.

 


	6. Tumblr Prompt : Don't cry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr prompt : Don't cry! Suggested by Blossem12
> 
> My tumblr is : nimarasnetherworld

 

Charles opened his eyes only to be meet with darkness.

“What the…” Charles muttered, slightly confused.

 He looked around until he spotted a dim green light. He slowly walked toward it, trying to understand where he was. When he was close enough to the light, Charles felt his heart missed a beat. No. It couldn’t be. He was back in the Netherworld.

“No.” He tried to keep the panic from rising. There was probably a reason to why he was there. He walked faster, bumping into some ghosts. Maybe he could try to find that receptionist. Yes. She would probably be able to help. He tried to spot the green woman, without any success. He kept walking further down in the strange dimension when something suddenly grabbed his attention. It was a figure, someone, lying on the floor.

“Delia…” he whispered. It was Delia. The life coach was dressed in a pink dress. Her long red hair down.  Why was she lying on the floor?

“Delia!” He sprinted toward her. Falling on his knees next to her. He shook her shoulder slightly.

“Delia wake up.”

She didn’t move. Charles shook her harder.

“Come on Delia. We have to get out of here.”

No response. He turned her slightly and fell back with a small scream when he was met by her lifeless brown eyes. Charles felt his heart stop.

“No. No no no no no.” he shook her once again, “Come on Delia! This isn’t funny! We have to go home!”

But the woman stayed still. Charles felt the tears blurring his vision. He turned around,

“Help! Please help me!” But none of the ghosts seemed to hear. They kept on going. Walking past him as if he wasn’t even here.

Charles was lost. He didn’t know what to do. This couldn’t be happening. Not again. He opened his mouth to scream for help again, only to be cut by another voice.

“Dad!” The scream was one of pure terror.

“Lydia…”

Why was his daughter here? She should be home.

“Dad! Help me!”  Charles tried to spot his daughter but he couldn’t see her.

“Lydia!” He wanted to run. To go look for his daughter, wherever she might be. But he couldn’t leave Delia. He couldn’t just leave her here. Another scream cut the air.

“Dad Please!”

Charles had trouble breathing. He grabbed a blue ghost by his shirt.

“Please! You have to help me. I have to find my daughter, but… But my fiancée.” His voice cracked.

The ghost didn’t even react. With a scream of anger Charles pushed him away. Why was no one helping him? He turned back and was meet once again with the sight of Delia’s lifeless body.

“DAD!”

Charles covered his ears and closed his eyes. Faling to his knees. Trying to block out all the sounds around him. Yet the voice kept on screaming. Why did it have to happen to his family?

“Charles!”

That was Delia’s voice. No it couldn’t be. Delia was… Charles chocked back a sob.

“Charles! Wake up sweetheart.”

Suddenly light filled his vision. He sat up, breathing hard. Someone was next to him. Warm hands cupped his cheeks.

“It’s alright Charles. You’re okay.”

Slowly his vision adjusted and found himself face to face with Delia.

“Delia?” He whispered.

“Yes it’s me, sweetie.” Her thumbs slowly stroked his cheeks.

She was alive. She was her in his arms. Her brown eyes warm and alive. Alive. She was alive.

“Oh Delia.” He collapsed in her arms. Hugging her tightly, burying his face in her neck.

“Shhh shhh. It’s alright. I’m here. Don’t cry. It was just a dream.” Delia said, rubbing his back in an attempt to comfort him. She had never seen him so distressed.  

Suddenly he sat upright and broke away from her. Hot tears were still running down his face.

“Lydia!” he exclaimed, running out of the room towards his daughter’s bedroom.

He was about to open the door when he realized that it was stupid. It was the middle of the night. Lydia was probably asleep. It had been just a dream. Yet, he decided to check on her. Charles opened the door as silently as he could. He let out a relieved sigh when he spotted his daughter. Lydia was sound asleep in her bed. She was safe.

Charles closed the door gently. He wiped his tears, before going back to his room. Delia was waiting for him, leaning on the door frame. She gave him a tired smile. The terror brought by the nightmare slowly faded away. He wrapped his arms around Delia, bringing her against his chest.

After a few minutes, the life coach slowly pulled away and took his hand, leading him back to bed. Charles closed the door behind them and sat next to her on the edge of the mattress.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Delia asked gently.

“No. I….” He wanted to tell her. But he couldn’t. Not now. “Maybe tomorrow” He told her, squeezing her hand.

She nodded before adding, “If you want to talk about it, I’m here. I’ll always be here for you.”

Charles gave her a small smile, leaning down to press a kiss against her lips. Delia was alive, Lydia was fine. Everything was fine. Breaking away from Delia, Charles rested his forehead against hers.

“Thank you.” He said, kissing her once more. Delia gave him a smile, that made his heart bit faster.

They both got back under the blankets. Delia stretched her hand to turn off the bedside lamp. Before she could turn around, Charles wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing his chest against her back.

“I love you” he said in the darkness.

“I love you too.”

Charles kissed her head. His fiancée was in his arms, alive. His daughter was sleeping soundly a few rooms away. Everyone was fine. With a sigh, Charles closed his eyes. Hoping the nightmares would stay away this time.


	7. Sick Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia gets sick and Delia takes care of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to write another one shot centered around Delia and Lydia so here you go!

  
Lydia didn’t feel well. It had begun with a sore throat and now she was stuck in bed with a fever. Some kids in her class had gotten the flu and of course, she had to get it. Because her life was awesome. She didn’t even like the kids in her class. Somehow, to make it even worse, she alone at home with Delia.

  
Delia had been her life coach for a while after her mother’s death. And now, since last month, she was her step mother. Life was weird. It’s not that Lydia didn’t like Delia. Actually, the teen had become fond of the older woman. It was hard to imagine their family without her now. And what a family they had. There was her dad, Delia, herself, two ghosts, demon and a cat. The thought of her weird family made her laugh. Or maybe it was the fever. But even if she liked Delia, being completely alone with her was not something Lydia was looking forward to. They were so different. Where Lydia was dark and quiet, Delia was bright and loud. Plus, her step mother had developed a terrible habit to make them try vegan meals. It wasn’t the fact that they were vegan that made them terrible, but the fact that Delia’s cooking skills were very limited.

  
In a way, they were both weird, Lydia mused while watching a small spider crawl on the wall. She missed Beetlejuice. The demon that had caused so much trouble had been back in their house for a few months now. Lydia liked him. He was her only friend. Of course, there were Barbara and Adam too. They were also nice. But right now, the dead couple and the green demon, were in the Netherworld. The three of them had been summoned in the other dimension regarding the whole “living people in the netherworld and Juno eaten by the Sandworm” events. Her father, Charles Deetz, was currently on a business trip. So, it was just her. And Delia.

Lydia winced. Her head was killing her. At least the nauseas were gone. The teenager shivered and pulled the covers tighter around her. She could hear Delia’s voice coming from outside her room.

  
“No Charles. The doctor just left. He says it’s just a bad case of flu. Nothing to worry about.”

  
Well at least her father was worried about her. She couldn’t hear what her father was saying over the phone but was surprised when she heard Delia answering with a slightly annoyed ton.

  
“Charles, I know how to take care of her. Don’t you trust me?”

  
So far, her dad and Delia’s relationship had been nothing but joy. It was rare to hear them fight. It happened of course, like it did in every relationship. At least her dad was happy. Genuinely happy. That was something she was thankful for.

  
“Okay. Have a nice trip. Yes, I’ll call you if it gets worse. But don’t worry it won’t.”

  
Another pause. Lydia pulled the covers down. Now she was hot. Damn fever.

  
“Yes, I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodbye. I love you too.” And with that Delia hung up.

  
Lydia rolled her eyes when she heard the door of her bedroom creak open. But a small part of her was actually glad for the life coach’s company. Wait, what? The fever must be higher than she thought.

  
“Hello sweetie.” Said Delia sitting on the edge of the bed. “How do you feel?”

  
“Not good” croaked Lydia.

  
“Aw sweetheart.” The redhead said, putting her hand on her step daughter’s forehead.

“You still have some fever.”

  
“No shit.”

  
“Language Lydia.” Gently reprimanded Delia.

  
Lydia let out a small laugh. Delia had somehow become more motherly over the last few weeks. She wasn’t even sure the woman had realized that.

  
“Oh, I forgot! I made you a soup!” exclaimed Delia.

  
Oh no. The life coach reached for the bowl she had put on the bedside table.

  
“I’m not hungry.” Said the teen. Which was actually true. And she would do anything to avoid Delia’s terrible cooking.

  
“Lydia. You need to eat. It’s going to help your body fight the sickness.” Delia narrowed her eyes. “It’s either the soup or the yoga session.”

  
“Give me the soup. Anything but yoga.”

  
With a satisfied smile, her step mother gave her the bowl and the spoon. With a little bit of apprehension, Lydia brought the spoon to her lips. Her eyes widened slightly. It wasn’t bad. It was actually good. She turned toward Delia.

  
“Who are you and what have you done to Delia Deetz?”

  
Delia rolled her eyes.

  
“I may not be the best cook but I still know how to make a simple vegetable soup.” She told the teenager. “Is there anything else you need?”

  
Lydia thought about it for a moment, sipping the soup. It actually did make her feel a little bit better.

  
“I’d like to watch a movie.”

  
“Sure sweetie! Which one?” Delia asked turning the TV on.

  
“IT. I haven’t seen the new one yet and people at school were talking about how awesome it is.”

  
Delia selected the movie and pressed play, before walking toward the door.

  
“Enjoy. And if you need anything don’t hesitate to call me. Alright?”

  
Lydia nodded, watching the life coach leaving the room. However, before Delia had even closed the door, the teenager called her.

  
“Delia.”

  
“hmm?”

  
“Can you watch the movie with me?”

  
The life coach was surprised by the request. And to be honest, Lydia was too. But having someone with her was nice.

  
“Sure!” Delia said, after a few seconds, seating on top of the covers next to her step daughter.

  
The movie started and Lydia expected screams of terror from Delia who hated horror movies. But the life coach remained silent. Jumping here and there but nothing more.

Lydia turned away from the TV to look at her stepmother. Delia had become a member of their family. She had stuck with them even after the whole “Beetlejuice” thing. She’s never shown any resentment toward Lydia even if she had been terrible to her. And right now, she was willing to put herself through a horror movie she probably hates just because she had asked her to.

On an impulse, Lydia wrapped her arms around Delia’s waist, resting her head on her chest. She would blame it on the fever later. After a moment of surprise, the woman wrapped her arms around the teenager.   
“thank you. For taking care of me.” Lydia muttered, before closing her eyes.

Right as she was about to fall asleep, she could swear she felt Delia place a kiss on the top of her head.

  
******************

  
Charles had decided to come home earlier than planned. He was worried about Lydia. He knew that Delia was with her but still, she was his daughter. He tried to open the door as silently as he could since it was still the middle of the night.

  
Hanging his coat, Charles made his way upstairs to check on Lydia. When he arrived in front of his daughter’s room, he was surprised to see a faint light coming from under the door. With a frown, he opened the door quietly. When his brain finally took the sight in front of him, Charles could help the smile forming on his face.

  
The TV was still on, the volume on low, playing a random tv show. On the bed were Lydia and Delia, sound asleep in each other’s arms. Charles felt his heart swell at the sight. He was so happy that Lydia had finally accepted Delia as a member of their family, and was happy to see their relation improve with time.

  
Grabbing the remote, Charles turned the TV off, deciding on letting his girls sleep peacefully. He made his way to his bedroom. Turning on the light, the businessman was immediately met with the growl of Vincent, Lydia’s cat, who had, once again, decided to settle on his bed.

  
“You know what, I’m not even going to try tonight. You can sleep here, you demon.”

  
Charles grabbed a spare blanket and pillow and with a last growl from Vincent, made his way back to Lydia’s room, not wanting to sleep in the guest room alone.

There was a small couch in his daughter’s room and it would be enough for tonight. Settling on the little couch, Charles, sent one last look to his wife and daughter before closing his eyes, happy to be with his family once again.


	8. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Delia brings home a gift for Lydia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is another Delia-LYdia bonding moment because that's all I seem to be able to write write now! Anyway enjoy!

Delia loved shopping. Of course, she would rather shop for some cloth but doing the groceries wasn’t something that bothered her at all. That’s why the whole family had agreed that she would be the one in charge of this task.  Well, to be honest the choice they had were quiet restraints since Beetlejuice, Adam, Barbara couldn’t get out of the house and Lydia was still a child.

She quickly grabbed everything she needed to feed the six inhabitants of their small house, grimacing slightly when she put the meat in the cart. She was about to go pay for everything when something in the clothing section of the store grabbed her attention. The life coach smiled, grabbing the small item. She immediately thought about Lydia. It would be perfect for her step daughter. She quickly added it to the cart and made her way to the check out point.

********************

In the house at the top of the hill, Lydia and Adam were seating at the living room table, working on her history essay.

“That’s great! Hey, you’re getting better at this every time!” exclaimed the ghost.

Lydia let out a small laugh, “Well that’s all thanks to you.”

They were halfway done when Adam’s watches’ alarm went off.

“I have to go” Adam groaned.

“Community service?”

“Community service.” Confirmed the ghost just as Barbara entered the living room.

Adam, Barbara and Beetlejuice had been summoned to the Netherworld a few months ago regarding the “incidents”. And by incident one should understand living people coming to the Netherworld and Juno being eaten by a sandworm.

A committee had been formed to decide which punishment the three ghosts were to received. After almost a week of debate, the committee had finally decided on banning the three of them from the Netherworld for at least 300 years, except to do twelve hours of community service during the week for the next 10 years. According to Miss Argentina this was a small sentence regarding their “crimes”. Actually, everyone was pretty sure that the ghosts in the Netherworld were glad that Juno was gone.

Adam quickly opened the door the Netherworld.

“Well we have to go. You’ll be alright by yourself?” asked Barbara.

“Yes, don’t worry about it. Plus, Delia should be home soon.”

Barbara nodded pressing a quick kiss on her for head before disappearing inside the door. Adam quickly followed his wife but turned back toward the teen,

“Finish your homework! I’ll check when we’ll get home”

“You got it!” Lydia said right as the door to the other dimension closed.

She sighed and went back to work. A few minutes later, the front door opened, revealing Delia, her arms full of groceries bags. Her step mother quickly brought them all to the kitchen before coming back to the living room.

“Hi sweetie! How was school?”

“Bring as usual. Adam had been helping me with my history essay.”

“Well that’s great! I’m sure you’ll do great job as always!”

Lydia gave her a small smile before turning back her attention to the piece of paper in front of her.

« Oh, I forgot! » Delia suddenly exclaimed.

She took out a small package from her bag and presented it to Lydia. “I saw this in the store and thought you might like it.”

Lydia took the small package with a little bit of apprehension. If it was another yellow dress she would probably throw up. But Delia had been making ton of efforts to understand her better and she looked at her step mother’s hopeful face before adding a small “thank you.” In her direction.

“No problem sweetie.”

Delia went to work quickly, trying to have all the groceries sorted before Charles would be home.

Once Lydia was sure that the life coach wasn’t looking at her, she carefully opened the package. Once the brown paper was out of the way she couldn’t help but gasped at what she found. It wasn’t another yellow dress, or even something remotely bright. It was a pair of fingerless gloves. The teen slowly took them in her hands, a small smile forming on her face. They were made out of black lace. The pattern was complicated and on the inside of each wrist was a rose outlined with a gold thread. They were beautiful. And totally something she would wear.

For the first time, Delia had bought her something she liked. For the first time Delia had put aside her dislike for anything dark or as weird as laced fingerless gloves, to actually buy something that her step daughter would like.

Lydia immediately felt a special thing for the gloves. Delia had told her that she loved her before. But this was a proof. A proof that finally Delia loved her for who she was and not who she could be.

“If you don’t like them, we can return them.”

The teen hadn’t even realized that Delia had been done with the groceries and was standing next to her.

“No… I… I love them.” Lydia stood up and wrapped her arms around the life coach

Delia was taken aback by the sudden display of affection but happily returned the hug, glad that Lydia liked the small present.

The teen pulled back from the hug, the pair of gloves still in her hand.

“Thank you, Delia.”

“You’re welcome sweetheart! I’m glad you like them. Do you want to help me get dinner ready before your father come home?”

Lydia nodded and they both went to work. Soon Adam and Barbara were back and joined them in the kitchen. At one-point Beetlejuice appeared on the counter barking order at them or trying to make Delia trip while she had some dish in her hands.

Soon enough they were done and Charles came home from work. The six of them sat at the table and started talking about their day. Lydia remained silent for almost the entire length of the dinner listening to Barbara complaining about a headless guy spilling some weird liquid on her and her dad complaining about Maxie and his stupid sixth wife. Or maybe it was his seventh at this point?

The teenager smiled. They were becoming a real family little by little. A weird family yes. But still a family.


	9. The Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Delia’s parents come over for dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was an idea I had for a while now. Basically, I wanted to write a one shot with Delia’s parents. I had a hard time writing it though and to be honest I’m not very happy about how it turned out but I needed to write something!  
> Also, I headcannoned that they were just big jerks.

“This was a terrible idea.” Lamented Delia as she brought the last dish on the table.

Tonight, her parents had decided to come for dinner. To meet Charles and Lydia. After all the wedding was only three weeks away and it was about time that meeting occurred.

Seeing how nervous Delia was, Charles lightly rubbed her back.  He too, was nervous to meet his future in-laws. But he was slightly worried about Delia and the state he was in. She had told him before that her parents weren’t the kindest of people but he was sure it wasn’t _that bad_.

“Hey don’t worry. Everything is ready and I’m sure it’s going to go great.” He tried to reassure her.

“Why are you so nervous? They’re your parents.” Asked Lydia wondering why her future step mother was so stressed about this dinner.

She was standing next to Beetlejuice who looked really excited to meet Delia’s parents. Adam and Barbara had promised to stay in the attic for the night. After all Delia’s parents wouldn’t be able to see them, but Beetlejuice had insisted to stay. And at one point they had gave up on the idea to send him away, only making him promise to not try to scare them or attempt anything during the dinner.

“No but my parents can be…” Delia was looking for the right word.

“What? Are they aliens?” asked Beetlejuice with a sneer.

“It’s not that. They’re… They can be mean.” She finally said.

“Cool! we might actually have fun tonight.” Said Lydia high-fiving Beetlejuice.

“Lydia.” Scolded Charles.

The doorbell ranged, and Delia’s heart started beating faster. The four of them walked toward the main door.

“Beetlejuice you can stay, but now shenanigans okay?” Delia said to the green demon.

“I swear on the tomb of the sandworm who ate my mother.” Beetlejuice replies in his raspy voice.

Delia looked at Charles, he gave her a small smile of encouragement. She turned to face the door. After taking a deep breath, Delia opened the door.

“Mom, Dad. I’m glad you could make it.” She greeted with a fake smile plastered on her face.

On the doorstep were a man and a woman. They were dressed in fancy clothes a frown of disgust placated on their faces. They looked like those rich people who thought they’re always better than everyone else. They looked out of place. And Lydia immediately understood that they were the kind of “mean” you wouldn’t have fun with.

“Delia.” Saluted her father, in a cold voice, almost as if he was annoyed by his daughter’s presence. Her mother just looked around, seemingly judging everything, ignoring her daughter.

“Charles, Lydia, this is my parents, Dominic and Darlene.” Introduced Delia obviously nervous about the whole situation.

“Hello.” Said Lydia. She didn’t like them.

“It’s an honor to finally meet you.” Charles said, shaking Dominic’s hand.

“The dinning room is this way.”

“Hm. The house is quite small.” Said Darlene, following her daughter to the dining room.

Charles and Lydia exchanged a look. The fact that those people were Delia’s parents was astonishing.

Once everyone was seated, they stayed in an awkward silence before Delia’s father started the conversation,

“So how did you two meet?” he asked, with absolutely no interest in his voice.

“Well, we bumped into each other in New York one day, Delia was giving out flyers for her life coach business. I thought a life coach could help so I decided to hire her.” Answered Charles.

“Oh, so you slept with your boss. Typical.” Darlene snarled.

“Actually, Charles hired me to be Lydia’s life coach.” Delia said, trying to ignore the comment, with a smile in direction of the teenager, who was being pointedly ignore by the older couple.

“Delia helped us at a very difficult time. You must be proud of her and what she does for people.” Added Charles.

“ _Proud_?” Dominic and Darlene said at the same time, laughing, as if the idea of being proud of their daughter was simply ridiculous.

“I wouldn’t say “proud”.”

Charles could feel Delia shaking beside him and he quickly covered her hand with his own in an attempt to bring some comfort, while glaring at her parents.

“I mean Delia’s always been _weird_.” Said Dominic spatting the word in disgust.

This time, it was Lydia’s turn to glare at the older couple.

“She’s always been in her world. Never good in class. Quite a stupid girl. Never acting as a young lady should. So, no, I wouldn’t say proud.” Darlene scolded, sipping her wine.

Dominic cleared his throat, turning his attention toward Charles,

“Charles you look like someone who actually uses his brain so, are you sure you want to marry her?”

Charles looked at them completely appealed by the way they talked about their daughter. For a moment he thought Delia was going to pass out.

“I think your daughter is an amazing woman and yes, I am sure I want to marry her.” He replied with a tight smile, fighting the urge to thrown his plate at them.

Once again Darlene and Dominic shared a look.

“I don’t like them.” Grumbled Beetlejuice. Manifesting for the first time since they had arrived.

But Delia’s father decided to change the subject.

“Delia told me you were married before?” asked Dominic.

“Yes. My first wife, Emily, d-died a year ago. That’s the reason why I hired your daughter” Said Charles.

« Hm. So a widower? » said Delia’s mother almost mockingly.

The air in the room became almost frigid. Charles narrowed his eyes at the couple seated in front of him. Those people walked into his house and manage to disrespect him, his daughter and his fiancée. Their own daughter. He couldn’t believe that they were her parents. Delia was gentle, always positive, ready to listen and help the best she can. But Dominic and Darlene were cold, uncaring, looking at any person who didn’t met their standards with disdain.

Charles glanced at Delia. She was seating straight in her chair, shockingly pale, her hand still trembling in his but there was something new in her eyes. An emotion he couldn’t place. Before he could ask her if she was alright, Dominic spoke again.

“And you,” he looked toward Lydia, “Are you always dressed like this?” he pointed at the black dress she was wearing.

The teenager glared at the man. She had promised to behave but they were starting to get on her nerves.

“Yes. Why? Is it a problem?”

Dominic sneered, “Goths kids. Always weird. Kids like you are always last in class, aren’t they?”

Lydia was about to shut him up, but she didn’t need to. Everyone had expected Beetlejuice to snap and scare them away or maybe even to death, or Charles to throw them out. But no one had expected Delia to be the one to snap at her own parents.

“Enough!” the life coach slammed her hands on the table, getting up suddenly, her chair falling in the process.

Everyone looked at her in shock. Her face was red, contorted in anger.

“You don’t insult them! Never!” she exclaimed pointing a finger toward Charles and Lydia, “Me, you can insult me for as long as you want, after all that’s what you always do! Since I was, a child, maybe even born, it’s always been “You’re not good enough Delia”, “How did we end up with a daughter like you, Delia.”, “You’re so stupid Delia!”. How do you think it felt?”

Everyone was still staring at her with wide eyes, her parents completely lost on what to do. For the first time Delia was finally standing up for herself.

“I tried. I always tried to do my best. But it was never enough for you! You think I’m the worst thing that happened to you because I was never good enough to be shown off to your rich friends! But now I’m happy. I’ve found people I loved! I’ve found a family. A real family. So, you won’t ruin their lives like you ruined mine! I’ve decided to finally be happy, not to listen to you anymore! Because maybe I’m the worst thing that happened in your life, but the worst thing that happened in mine was to believe all those awful things you said about me!”

The silence that followed was deafening. No one moved for a few seconds before Delia spoke once again,

“I think it’s best if you leave now.” She had stopped shouting but her ton was still cold and harsh.

But all that Dominic and Darlene did was to stare at her in shock. But it was at this moment that Vincent decided to jump on the table. He glared at Delia’s parents with all him might and growled until they finally snapped out of their trans. They quickly got up. Charles followed their movement.

“Let me show you the way out.” His ton similar to Delia’s.

Without a word they slowly followed him. Once they were out of the dinning room, Lydia looked at her future stepmother. She sat back down heavily in Charles’s chair, since hers was still on the floor. She was very pale, and looked completely lost. Beetlejuice had disappeared.

“Delia, are you alright?” gently asked the teenager. She was touched by the fact that Delia had stood up for her.

The woman suddenly turned her head toward her, as if she only realized now that Lydia was still here with her. She took a deep breath.

“Yes! I’m fine. Lydia, I’m sorry about what they said about you…”

“Don’t worry. They’re just big jerks.” The teen told her.

“Yes, they are.” Agreed Delia with a small smile.

The sound of the entrance door slamming shut echoed in the house. Soon after, Charles entered the dinning room. Lydia stood up, starting to round up all the dishes and bring them back to the kitchen. Once she was gone, Charles took Delia’s chair of the floor and sat next to her.

“Are you okay?”

Delia gave him a sad smile.

“Yes. I’m kind of glad I finally stood up to them. But I’m sorry I…”

“No.” Charles interrupted her, taking her hands in his, “Don’t apologize for them. They’re just big jerks.”

Delia chuckled slightly as Charles used the exact same sentence as his daughter. She looked up and gave him a real smile. He slowly leaned toward her and she happily met him halfway for a small kiss.

“Get a room.” Lydia groaned.

Both adults got up and started helping her with cleaning everything and soon enough they were done.

“Well, I’m going to bed. Goodnight everyone.” Announced Lydia before climbing up the stairs. But she stopped halfway. She quickly made her way back to Delia and hugged her.

The life coach was quite taken aback for a moment before wrapping her arms around her step daughter.

“You’re not stupid Delia. You’re awesome.” And with that Lydia was gone.

Delia watched her go, feeling very emotional about what the teenager had just told her. Two arms wrapped around her waist from behind and she happily let herself fall back against Charles’s chest covering his hands with her own.

“She’s right you know. You are awesome.” He said, pressing a kiss against her temple before resting his head on her shoulder.

They stood like that for a while before Delia broke the comfortable silence,

“I don’t think they are going to come to the wedding.”

His heart constricted slightly at the sadness in her voice. Charles sighed and pressed a kiss on her neck, and whispered an “I love you” against her skin., not knowing what else to do or say.

“Come on.” He said, grabbing one of her hand.

They made their way to their bedroom. Charles opened the door only to let out a small scream as a Vincent suddenly bolted out of the room, scratching his arm in the process.

“Vincent!” yelled Charles as the animal hurried down the stairs to go who knows where.

Delia couldn’t help but laugh.

“I hate that cat.” Muttered Charles.

“Well at least we’re going to have our bed to ourselves tonight.” She told him with a sly smile. She quickly grabbed his hand, dragging him into the room, making sure to close the door behind them.


	10. Harry Potter AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lydia is a student at Hogwarts where Delia teaches Divination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this idea was born with the help of the Beetlejuice discord server (love you all) and I decided to write a small thing for it! Enjoy!

Lydia Deetz was a witch. A half-blood. Her father, Charles Deetz is a mortal and her mother was a witch. Emily Deetz had died when Lydia was only nine years old. She had been an Auror, died during a dangerous mission. After that, her father had decided to leave the Unites States and move to The United Kingdom. To start a new life.  Of course, it had been hard for the both of them but they held on to each other and slowly healed and moved on.

Lydia was studying at Hogwarts, deciding to stay in the UK rather than to move back to the USA to attend Ilvermorny. And after all her mother had studied at Hogwarts. A proud Slytherin, like Lydia. And like her mother, Lydia wanted to become an Auror. Of course, at first, her father had freaked out, afraid that his daughter would end up killed. But Slowly he had gotten used to the idea. Well, he was still against the idea, trying to convince her to become a “witch doctor”, but didn’t mentioned it as much as he used to. Delia had helped him a lot with this.

Delia was Charles’s second wife and Lydia’s stepmother. And a witch. The day Charles had found out about her being a witch had been one of the funniest moment Lydia had ever witnessed. Looked like her father had a thing for witches after all. Of course, Lydia had known way before her father that Delia was a witch. She was actually famous in the wizarding world. One of the best witch in the world when it came to divination.  All of her prophecies turned out to be true¸ even if they didn’t make any sense most of the time.

It was fun to watch people freak out when Delia predicted what seemed like a terrible future. “You’ll find yourself surrounding by darkness, cold, and mostly wet.” And the next day you would fall into a lake. So not the terrible future you were bracing yourself for.

Lydia was in her fourth year now and couldn’t wait to graduate. Life at Hogwarts hadn’t been easy for her. She was picked on by other students and everyone thought she was weird even if they were all witches.

Thank fully she had quickly made friend with the Hufflepuff’s ghosts. Adam and Barbara Maitland had become like a second pair of parents to her, even if she wasn’t from their house. They were always there if she needed to talk. Because as much as she loved her cat, Vincent, he wasn’t really great at conversations. And it was thanks the Maitlands that she had met Allison, a Hufflepuff in the same year as her. They had quickly become friends and life got a little easier.

But she had not expected Delia to become a professor at the school. When the Headmaster had introduced her to the students during the banquet, she had immediately heard the comments from her fellow Slytherins. Kyle and Abraham, who had decided since the first day of their first year to make her life a living nightmare, quickly went into action.

“Oh, so you brought your mommy with you Deetz?”

“I wonder how you’re so lame at divination when your mother is _the_ Delia Deetz!”

“She’s not my mother!” snapped Lydia.

“Oh yeah right! Your mommy’s dead!” laughed Kyle.

Lydia felt the anger rise within her. But she controlled herself. She had promised the prefect to no not lose points on the first day this year and she wanted to prove this idiot that she could do it. So, she clenched her fists and turned her head toward the professor’s table. When Delia caught her looking in her direction, she happily waved at her, mouthing a “Hi Lydia”, only earning more laughs from her classmates.

This wasn’t going to be a fun year.

************

When Lydia entered the dungeon for her Potion class, Allison was already there, as well as Kyle and Abraham. Lydia braced herself for the usual comments but they said nothing. They even smiled at her when she passed next to them.

Lydia frowned but said nothing as she took her seat next to Allison. She slowly got all the ingredients out of her bags but realized she was missing something.

“Oh no! I forgot my newt’s tongue!”

“Oh. Well I only have one and it’s crucial for the potion so I don’t know what you’re going to do. Plus, the class starts in five minutes do you don’t have the time to go back to the supply closet.”

“Yes. Thank you, Allison, this is very helpful.” The Slytherin told her friend.

Kyle’s voice suddenly interrupted them, “I have two if you want.”

“what?” Lydia asked confused.

“I have two newt’s tongues if you want?”

“Um. Okay.”

Lydia half expected for him to give her a snake of something disgusting to prank her, but he actually placed a newt’s tongue in her hand,

“Here you go.” He said.

“uh… Thank you.” Said Lydia confused by their sudden change of behavior.

She turned toward Allison who, “What was that?”

“I don’t know.” Replied the Hufflepuff, as surprised as her, “They’ve been acting weird since their Divination lesson yesterday.”

The Divination lesson? Lydia let out a small laugh. She definitely was going to see her stepmother after class.  She wanted what Delia had told them to make them so nice.

*********

 Delia was grading some papers when someone knocked on the door of her office.

“Entered!” she shouted in direction of the door.

To her surprise, Lydia opened the door and slipped into the room.

“Oh. Hi sweetie! Is something wrong?”

It was unusual for her step daughter to come and see her outside the class.

“No.” replied the teen, “I just wanted to ask you something.”

“Oh, okay! Ask away!” Delia said cheerfully.

“So, Kyle and Abraham have been very nice lately and apparently that sudden change of behavior occurred after you lesson yesterday. What did you tell them?” asked Lydia cocking one of her eyebrows.

A smirked appeared on her stepmother’s face, “Oh, maybe I told them that terrible things would happen to them if they weren’t a little nicer.”

“So, you lied to them?” Lydia asked in surprise.

The professor shrugged, “Well why have a gift if you can’t use it at your advantage?”

“Wow. Who are you and what have you done to the sweet and nice professor Deetz?” chuckled the young witch.

Delia rolled her eyes before gesturing to the seat in front of her,

“Do you want some tea?”

Lydia sighed. She had nothing else to do. She sat down and took the cup Delia was offering her. They talked about classes and family stuff for a while. It was actually nice to have someone other than Allison to talked to.

“I don’t understand why dad freaks out so much about me wanting to be an Auror?” said Lydia suddenly.

“Oh sweetie, he’s just worried for you. But don’t worry I’ll talk to him. After all, if you want to be an Auror you have to follow your dream!” Exclaimed the redhead in her usual cheerful manner.

Lydia gave her a small smile. At least someone believed in her.

“How about I look at those tea leaves of yours?” asked Delia extended her hand toward her teacup.

Lydia nodded and gave it to her. Delia spent a few seconds examining its contents before announcing her prophecy,

“Your future lies within the dawn.”

“What does it even mean?” Lydia said, confused by the statement. Like always when it came to Delia’s prophecies.

“I don’t really know. But you have your whole life to figure it out sweetie.” Said Delia giving her back the teacup.

The young witch gave her stepmother a small smile before making her way back to her dorm. The next day, Lydia made sure to be awake before the sun was up. She sat in front of the window, Vincent, joining her soon after, and together they watched the first lights of dawn lightning up the sky.

********

Lydia had never been as happy as the day she was made an Auror by the Ministry. She had been doing this job for almost six years now and she was sure she would never get tired of it.

Her partner was a weird one for sure. He claimed that his name was Beetlejuice, but Lydia had found out that it was truly Lawrence and often teased him about it. With his electric green hair, the wizard truly looked out of place. Well, actually they weren’t even sure he was a wizard. Sure, he could do magic but Lydia was sure it wasn’t the same magic that they were using. Some people said Beetlejuice was a vampire, a ghost or even a demon. But Lydia liked him. They worked well together. Actually, she’s the only one who managed to work with him. He had pushed ten Aurors into retirement before she had arrived.

Of course, there were some drawbacks about being an Auror. The biggest one was the paper work. Which was what the witch was doing right now. Beetlejuice was lying on to of his desk an ancient book in his hands, quiet for once.

“Why are you doing this crap?” he suddenly asked in his raspy voice.

“Because this “crap” is going to get us out of trouble for the time you made a house collapsed.”

“Hey it was to catch a bad guy! I don’t get why we are in trouble for that.” Beetlejuice replied, turning the page of his book.

Lydia sighed, “Catching bad guys doesn’t mean we can just destroy people’s properties.”

For an answer Beetlejuice groaned. Working with him was like working with a paperwork generator. But she had to admit that it was fun.

After a moment of silence, Beetlejuice spoke again.

“Hey, did you know “Aurore” meant “dawn” in French? With an “e” at the end.”

“No, I didn’t…” suddenly, she looked up,

_“Your future lies within the dawn.”_ Lydia smiled. Looked like Delia had been right. Again.

The witch looked at the picture on her desk. Next to her mother’s picture was a picture of her Dad, Delia and herself at her Hogwarts’s graduation. She quickly grabbed her phone and texted Delia,

“Can I come over to dinner tonight?”

The reply was almost immediate,

“Of course, sweetie! We’d be happy to have you over!”

Lydia smiled. It had been too long since she had seen her family.


	11. Get to know each other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charles and Delia play a game to get to know each other better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to write a fluffy piece for Charles and Delia so here you go!  
> Warning: mention of sexual situations.  
> Also I'm not sure if What Emily died of is mentioned in the musical so i'm sorry for any inaccuracy on that point!

Delia slowly took all the pins keeping her bun in place, letting her hair fall down her shoulder. She sighed. The preparations for the wedding were taking most of her time these days.  She was getting married to Charles next week. The thought made her heart flutter. She looked down at the ring on her finger. Soon another one would join it.

Charles entered the room, already in his pajamas. He leaned down to press a kiss on her cheek before letting himself fall on the bed next to her.

“God I’m so tired.” He groaned.

Delia chuckled, “Well everything takes a little bit more time with a teenager, two ghosts and a demon in the house.”

 She quickly got ready to bed, putting her pink tank top and shorts on. The life coach fell back onto the bed next to her fiancé. That’s when she noticed the deck of cards Charles was holding in his hand.

“What’s that?”

Charles seemed to only remember about the deck of card at this moment,

“Oh. Lydia gave it to me. It’s a “get to know you” game. There are questions on each card. Apparently, it’s supposed to help you know your significant other better.” He chuckled, “Looks like Lydia is scared we don’t know each other enough.”

There was a moment of silence before Delia sat up. “Why don’t we play a little?”

Charles opened his eyes, looking at her in surprise, “What?”

“The game,” Delia gestured to the deck still in his hand, “It could be fun. And we could actually learn something about each other.”

Charles seemed to debate the idea for a moment before he sat up. He carefully opened the brand-new deck, and shrugged “Why not.”

“Yay!” Exclaimed Delia, clapping her hands together.

He shuffled the cards for a moment before handing her half of it. They got comfortable on the bed, facing each other.

“I’ll start.” Said Charles, flipping the card to see the question written on it, “When was your first kiss?”

Delia thought about it for a moment, “I was 13, in middle school.”

Charles nodded, “okay. Your turn.”

“When and where were you born?” asked Delia.

“Well that’s an easy one. I was born on June 21st 1974 in New-York, New-York.”

“I knew that.” Said Delia, with a small smile.

Charles smiled back, flipping one of his cards over.

“What’s your middle name?

Delia winced, looking rather annoyed by the question.

“Oh, come on.” Pressed Charles, “It can’t be that bad.”

The redhead sighed, “Magnolia.”

Charles burst out laughing “Magnolia? Really?”

His fiancée gave him a playful slap on the arm “Don’t laugh! What’s _your_ middle name?”

“Daniel”

“Yeah… That’s better than Magnolia.” Muttered Delia.

Charles started laughing again so she interrupted him, “Okay my turn!”, she turned the card over, “Have you ever had multiple sexual partners at once?”

“God, I hope Lydia didn’t read these.” The business man groaned, “No I have not.”

“Really?” asked Delia.

Charles nodded, “Really. Have you?”

She shrugged, “Yes. Twice actually. It was fun.”

“I’ll have to trust you on that one.”, he flipped on of his card over, “Have you ever kissed someone from the opposite sex?”

“Yes. I actually like girls.” Immediately responded Delia. “I mean I like girls and boys. I don’t really mind actually, as long as I love them and they love me.”

Charles wasn’t surprised. He knew that Delia had had experiences with both sexes. But she had actually never directly told him. He was curious so he decided to ask her another question,

“Were you ever in a serious relationship with a woman?”

A small smile appeared on Delia’s face, “Yes. Her name was Betty. It lasted a few months before she broke up with me.” There was a small moment of silence before she spoke again, “My turn. Where you ever married before?”

When she looked up from the card, Charles could see that she was embarrassed, “You don’t have to answer that…”

But he interrupted her; “No. I want to.” He cleared his throat, “I was married before, for almost seventeen years. Her name was Emily. She was amazing and I loved her very much. She died of a breast cancer a year ago.”

It still hurt to talk about her, but Charles had figured out it always will. After the whole “Beetlejuice thing” he had started to talk about Emily with Lydia and Delia more. It had actually helped him more than he could have imagined.

Delia gave his hand a little squeeze and he smiled at her. After Emily’s death he had never thought he could fall in love again. But Delia waltzed into his life and here they were, getting married in a week.

“What about you?”

The question was out before he could stop it. He knew that she had been married before but she had never talked about it. The smile disappeared from the life coach’s face.

“I’m sorry you don’t have…” quickly said Charles, but Delia interrupted him.

“His name was Marvin.”

She sighed before continuing,  “He was handsome, nice, attentive, gentle. The perfect gentleman.” She said with a sad smile, “We met at a party and I fell in love with him almost instantly. We went out on a date and another, it was perfect. We got married a few months later. I thought I had found… my home. But after the wedding he became distant, always going on business trips. I didn’t understand what was happening. But I didn’t say anything because I was afraid to… be alone again.”

She stopped talking but Charles knew she wasn’t finished so he didn’t say anything.

“And then I found out that he was cheating on me. He had a boyfriend. A boyfriend he actually knew way before he met me. Everyone knew about it. Except poor, naïve Delia.” She let out a sad laugh, “One day he just didn’t come back. He had left with his boyfriend and the next day I received the papers asking for a divorce. He had abandoned me just like that. Just like everyone else.”

Charles rubbed the back of her hand, gently with his thumb. “Thank you for telling me.”

Delia smiled and leaned toward him, pressing a kiss on his lips.

“What do you say we go to bed?” he asked as Delia yawned.

‘Yes, I think it’s a great idea. We still have a lot to do tomorrow.”

Charles turned off the lights and they both settled under the cover.

“We could play again sometime. It was fun.” Said Delia, resting her head against his chest.

“Yes, it was fun… Magnolia.”

He let out a laugh, quickly muffled by the pillow Delia threw on his head.


	12. The ghost and the life coach.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Barbara and Delia spend some time together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I see a lot of people completely erasing either Delia or Barbara as if the two of them couldn’t coexist in the family. So, I decided to write this one-shot! It’s my first-time writing Barbara so I hope I did her justice!

Barbara sighed as she let herself fall on the couch. Even dead she could be tired. Adam, Lydia and her had been cleaning the attic for the past few days, so that the dead couple would be able to live in it. Sometimes Beetlejuice would also, show up and help them. Well, “help” was a big word when it came to the demon.  But today she had done the work alone. Lydia was at school. Adam was in the Netherworld because Miss Argentina had “requested him to do some renovations on some old stuff”. It clearly was something you couldn’t say “no” to. Beetlejuice was nowhere to be found and maybe it was better this way.

Barbara looked around the house. It was so unusual for it to be so calm. Charles had left for a small business trip yesterday and wouldn’t be back before tomorrow. Delia was out to get the groceries at the moment. The blonde, thought about the other couple for a moment. At first, she hadn’t really like either Charles or Delia, only seeing the pain that their relationship had caused to Lydia. But then she had somehow learned more about the two adults. Under his cold exterior Charles was just a man grieving for his wife and trying to keep what was left of his family together. And Delia. Delia just wanted to be happy. Wanting to be loved and accepted. To find a home.

Barbara had come to understand the Deetzs a little bit more. They weren’t the best of friends that’s for sure but it was nice to have other adults to talk to from time to time.

But for now, Barbara was alone. And she was bored. She looked at the small bag next to her on the couch. Somehow, all the tools necessary to make pottery had survived the Deetzes moving in. There was even a decent amount of clay left. She shook her head. She didn’t even really liked pottery that much. But then again, she had nothing else to do. Maybe it will help her keep her mind occupied instead of thinking about what she didn’t do while she was alive.

With a sigh, Barbara got up, taking the small plastic bag with her. She got everything set up on the table, making sure to have everything she needed before she sat down, preparing the clay. Sha could make a small plate. Easy enough.

While Barbara was trying to get the clay to soften, Delia entered the house, her arms filled with groceries bags.

“Oh, hi Barbara!” She happily exclaimed, deposing the bags on the other end of the table, “What are you doing?”

“Well I’m trying to get this clay to soften so I can make something out of it.”

“Sounds like fun.” Said the life coach, putting all the groceries in the cupboards and fridge. Once she was done, she went back to where Barbara was seated, her brows furrowed in concentration as she was trying to read the instruction on the package.

“What are you going to make?” Delia asked taking a seat next to her. She knew that Barbara didn’t really liked her and she wanted to find a way to change that.

“I want to make a plate, but I wish that I could speak Chinese or whatever this language is so I could get the instructions on how to work with this clay.”

“It’s mandarin.”

Barbara looked up, “What?”

Delia pointed to the package, “The language, it’s mandarin.” She hesitated for a moment before adding, “I can translate if you want to.”

“Uh... Yeah! Sure!” said Barbara completely taken aback.

Delia took the clay from her hands and inspected the inscription on the paper for a moment before speaking, “For an easier application, you can used water to soften. This clay is safe to be put in a regular oven, 20 minutes at 375F°, let the clay cool for at least one hour before painting over it if you wish to.”

“You speak mandarin?” she asked the life coach, completely surprised by that piece of information.

Delia let out a small laugh, “Yes! Actually, I speak, French, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Swedish, Italian, Portuguese and I know a little bit of Japanese and Korean. And of course, I speak English!”

Barbara was impressed. She had never known that Delia was polyglot. She was pretty sure no one actually knew about that.

“Why don’t you make a plate with me? After all there is enough clay for two.”

“Oh, Why not?” happily exclaimed Delia.

Barbara divided the clay between them and both women went to work. They spend the next few minutes in complete silence working on their plates.

Suddenly, Delia broke the silence, “Have you and Adam been together for a long time?”

Barbara was quite taken aback by the question but answered,

“Yes. We met in middle school. It was love at first sight.” Barbara smiled fondly at the memory of the awkward meeting, “We started dating soon after and never left each other’s side. We actually moved in together in our first apartment when we were only 18.”

“And your parents were okay with that?” asked Delia in slight disbelief.

“Oh yes! My parents were always very supportive of me. Always telling me that I would be able to achieve anything if I just put time and work into it. And they loved Adam.” 

They made their way to the oven, their pieces finally finished, now they just had to bake them. Barbara had to admit that Delia’s piece was a work of art. While hers was decent and the pattern quite regular for something handmade, Delia’s was amazing, the small, intricate pattern almost making it look like lace.

After spending some time watching the oven do its work, Barbara broke the silence,

“What about your parents?”

She noticed that Delia stiffened slightly.

“Oh uh... My parents… Weren’t really the best. I… was the “biggest mistake of their lives” as they like to say.” The redhead let out a fake laugh.

Barbara couldn’t quite believe her. Delia was a polyglot, amazing at pottery and Barbara was pretty sure that wasn’t the only talents she had. But before she could say anything, the life coach continued,

“They never really took care of me. As soon as I could I moved out and went on my way. And, well… Things didn’t get easier. I thought I would never be able to find a home.” A small smile appeared on Delia’s face, “and then I met Charles. And Lydia. And Then you, and Adam and Beetlejuice.” She turned toward Barbara, “And I think I finally found my home.”

Neither spoke after that. They watched their small plates, slowly baking in the oven. Barbara, turned her gaze to the redhead. She had a newfound appreciation for Delia. She admired her for always being so optimistic. Even if sometimes it was maybe a tad overboard. She suddenly remembered what her mother used to say, _«People who are always happy are the people who are the saddest inside.”_

The oven chimed, and the women quickly got their work out o it, leaving it to cool on the counter.

“Well that was fun!” said Delia, her usual cheerfulness back.

“Yes, it was.” Agreed Barbara. “We should do this more often.” She offered to the life coach.

“Yes, it could be fun. Some girl times!”

Barbara smiled just as the door to the Netherworld opened and Adam walked back in. Soon the house was once again filled with its inhabitants, minus Charles who was still on his business trip. Even Beetlejuice had come to have dinner with them.

Back in the attic, Barbara and Adam quickly got ready to go to bed.  As she curled herself around her husband, Barbara smiled,

“I spoke with Delia today. We made some pottery together.”

“Really?” asked Adam, surprised. He knew that his wife wasn’t really fond of the life coach.

“Yes. She’s actually pretty nice.”

“Well I’m glad you two are getting along.” Said Adam, closing his eyes.

“I’m glad too.” Murmured Barbara as she slowly let sleep take her, glad that she had made a new friend today.


	13. Blackout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A power outage brings peace and quiet to the Deetz-Maitland household.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This idea came to me after yesterday’s blackout! I wanted to write something about it and @Blossem12 gave me the final idea for it! There’s no real plot it’s just a fluffy one shot!

For once, the Deetz-Maitland household was quiet. Which was a rare event. Adam and Barbara were cuddled on the couch as were Delia and Charles. The four them were completely silent, half watching the movie on the TV, half just savoring the peace and quiet. Beetlejuice and Lydia were somewhere in the house. None of the adults had heard from them for a while now. Which, come to think about it was maybe slightly worrying. But none of them were ready to sacrifice this rare moment of silence to deal with the demon and the teenager.

Charles reluctantly let go of Delia, who looked already half asleep, to check on them when suddenly everything went dark. For a moment no one said a thing.

“What happened?” asked Barbara, getting up.

This time the house was truly silent. Without the sound of all the electronics running, it almost seemed surreal.

“It seems like the power went out.” Answered Adam.

Footsteps could be heard from upstairs and soon enough Lydia and Beetlejuice made their appearance at the top of the stairs.

“What is going on?” asked the teenager.

“I swear we didn’t do anything.” Quickly added Beetlejuice.

Charles rolled his eyes. He went to the drawer in hope to find a torch light, but someone suddenly grabbed his arm. He had forgotten that Delia was scared of the dark. He took her hand in his, opening the drawer with the other. After a moment Charles finally found the torch light and turned it on.

“Apparently the whole town is out of power.” Said Lydia looking at the news on her phone.

“Do they know when the power will be back?” asked Delia in a small voice. Charles gave her hand a small squeeze.

“The article doesn’t say. And if it’s the whole town I guess it’s going to take a while.” Said the teen.

Adam sighed, “Well, I guess we just have something to do that doesn’t require any power.”

“But first we could maybe gather some torch lights and candles?” suggested Barbara.

The six of them went through the house to look for what they needed. Fifteen minutes later they were all back in the living room. They had managed to find four torch lights, and a good number of candles as well as some matches. But Beetlejuice also held the small telescope, Delia and Charles had offered Lydia for her birthday.

“What are you going to do with this?” asked Adam suspiciously.

“With the power outage there are no lights anywhere and the sky is clear so that’s the perfect night to watch the stars!” exclaimed Lydia.

“Yeah! Plus, the view from the roof is going to be awesome.” Added Beetlejuice.

“Well be careful!” said Charles handing them one of the torch lights before they ran upstairs.

The four remaining adults quickly lit up some candles, allowing them to see what they were doing as well to save some of the batteries for the lights. Barbara broke the silence,

“Maybe we could play some kind of card game?”

They all nodded and sat around the table. Turned out playing a card game could be fun. But after about three games, Barbara and Adam decided to go to bed early. The said their goodbyes and disappeared in the attic taking some candles and one of the lights with them.

Charles turned to Delia,

“Do you want to play another game?”

“Yeah! Why not!” exclaimed Delia happily, glad that they had something to do so she could take the darkness out of her mind.

They played in silence, concentrating of the game. At one point, Charles took a moment to look at Delia. She was thinking about her next move, biting her lip in concentration. She was already in her pajamas, a pink tank top and matching short. Her hair was still up in a bun, but not one as complicated as the one she wears during the day. The candle light brought out her red hair. She was beautiful.

“Dance with me?”

Delia suddenly looked up at Charles in confusion,

“What?”

Charles got up, offering his hand to her, “Dance with me?”

“uh... But there’s no music.”

“We don’t need any music.”

Delia gave him a small smile that made his heart flutter. With a small “okay” she accepted the offered hand and let herself being brought against him.

Charles put one of his hand on the small of her back, bringing her closer to him, holding one of her hand with his free one. Delia smiled, putting her free hand on his shoulder and resting her head against his chest. Charles gently swayed them, barely moving at all.

Delia let out a contended sigh, closing her eyes. She loved the feeling of Charles’s arms around her, being against him just made her feel safe. It was nice to finally feel like she could be herself with someone, to feel like she belonged somewhere.

She felt Charles chuckled, the sound reverberating through his chest.

“Don’t fall asleep on me.”

Delia opened her eyes, looking up at her husband.

“Well it’s actually kind of soothing.” She said yawning.

Charles broke away from her, keeping his hold on her hand,

“Let’s go to bed. It’s getting late.”

She nodded. He blew out the candles and grabbed the remaining torch lights before gently leading her up the stairs and to their bedroom. They quickly got into bed, happy to see that for once Vincent hadn’t decided to evict them from it. Delia immediately curled around Charles resting her head on his shoulder, and one of her hand on his heart. Charles automatically wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back.

“I love you.” He said, kissing her forehead before closing his eyes.

“I love you too.” Murmured Delia.

They both fell asleep almost instantly, the quiet of the house, and each other’s presence lulling them to sleep.

For once, the Deetz-Maitland household was quiet. Which was a rare event. But Afterall, it wasn’t every night that the whole city was plunged into darkness because of a blackout.


	14. Painting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Delia and Beetlejuice found themselves painting together while everyone else is out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo another one shot! This one is for a tumblr friend who requested a one shot with Delia and/or Charles stuck with Beetlejuice! I hope you’ll like it!

Delia sighed. She was alone at home. Barbara and Adam were somewhere in the netherworld, Lydia was at school, Beetlejuice was only god knows where and Charles was out for work. She wasn’t used to the house being so quiet. The last few months had been nothing but complete chaos. Which was something she should have expected, since she lived with her fiancé, a teenager, two ghosts and a demon. Especially since Beetlejuice and Lydia had decided that their favorite new game was to scare her. The green demon seemed very fond of finding endless ways to annoy the life coach.

But today was a quiet day and Delia was getting bored. She had gone grocery shopping, she had cleaned the house, even emailed her parents to let them know she was alive, even if they probably didn’t care and never bothered to respond. What was she going to do now? Gardening was out of the question since it was raining, which also meant that she couldn’t get out for a walk, and she wasn’t in the mood for yoga or meditation. The life coach groaned, and looked glumly through the window. The scenery was pitoresque. And that gave her an idea.

Painting. Delia had always love painting. She had done it since she was a kid. Her parents had never encouraged her but she knew she was a decent painter. Maybe she could paint something to decorate the living room? The life coach excitingly climbed up the stairs and began to search for her painting tools. She knew they were somewhere in the house. After a good twenty minutes of looking for it, Delia almost gave up when she finally spotted the little case and a canvas sticking out from under a pile of books.

Delia carefully grabbed her stuff and let out a victorious cry. She had finally found something to occupy her day. She went back to the living room and settled everything. But when she was faced with the white canvas, Delia suddenly realized she had no idea of what she wanted to paint. The life coach frowned, trying to think about what she could paint. A small smile appeared on her face. When she was little, her parents used to go to their summer house, and had the decency to take her with them. Behind the large house was a meadow. It had always been Delia’s happy place. She loved lying in the grass, in between the flowers and just look at the stars. Yes. It would make a perfect painting.

The life coach happily began to paint the scenery. She was so focus on her work that she didn’t hear the footsteps behind her.

“Watcha doin’?”

Delia let out a piercing scream, almost splattering paint all over her work. Luckily that didn’t happen, instead, her purple dress now had a big green streak on it. Speaking of green, Delia turned toward the intruder, Beetlejuice was looking at her with a raised eyebrow. For once his intention had not been to scare her. The demon looked curiously at the painting.

“Oh my god! You scared me!” exclaimed Delia, a hand on her heart.

“You should b used to it by now.” Deadpanned Beetlejuice.

Delia hesitated a moment. He seemed pretty calm compare to usual and seemed to be really interested in her activity of the day. The redhead stepped aside slightly, allowing him to see the canvas.

“I’m painting. It calms me.”

“Oh.” Was the only answer she got.

The demon took a few steps toward her, clearly intrigued by the whole thing.

“What is it?” he asked in his raspy voice, pointing at the field slowly coming together on the canvas.

“A meadow. I used to go there with my parents. Well, I mean, my parents owned a house near it and I used to go there to… Don’t touch it it’s not dry yet!”

Beetlejuice stopped his movement, looking at her with questioning eyes, his finger inches away from the painting.

“Sorry” he muttered, taking a step back, cocking his head still looking at the painting.

Delia was lost. She didn’t know what to do. Beetlejuice didn’t seem to want to go all “demony” on her, which was good, but it looked like he was too curious about the whole painting thing to go away. Suddenly, Delia got an idea. She had another canvas. Maybe Beetlejuice would like to join her for her activity.

“Do you want to try?” she asked gently

“What?” the demon asked, confused

“Painting. Do you want to paint something? I have another canvas if you want to?”

Beetlejuice looked at her for a moment before shrugging, making his way toward the other canvas. Delia gave him a brush and some paint before going back to her work. But she was quickly interrupted by the demon,

“What do I paint?”

Delia shrugged, “Whatever you want! Whatever makes you happy.”

Once again Beetlejuice just stared at her for a moment, before Turing back to his canvas and starting to paint on it. He quickly threw the brush away and started painted with his fingers, biting his tongue in concentration. Happy to get some quiet, Delia went back to her meadow.

They worked in silence side by side until they were interrupted by a voice, coming from the front door.

“Delia, I’m home!”

Charles quickly hanged his coat and made his way toward the living room, stopping in his tracks when he saw the scene before him.

“Uh… Hi Beetlejuice. What are you guys doing?”

“Painting! Exclaimed Beetlejuice, “Mine his done now! Look!” he quickly took his painting and almost pressed it against Charles’s nose.

“What do you think, Chuck?”

Charles took a step back, looking at… What? He didn’t really know. The canvas was just full of streaks of dark colors. It almost made it look like mud. Which actually wasn’t so much out of character for the demon.

“It looks… nice.” Finally said Charles, not wanting to cross Beetlejuice.

“I know! I’m going to put It in Lydia’s room! She ‘s going to love it.”

Once the green man was out of sight Charles made his way toward Delia, “Or burn it when she sees it.”

Delia let out a small laugh and happily tilted her head so Charles could kiss her. When they broke away, he turned toward her painting.

“Wow Delia. It’s beautiful.” The business man said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“Thank you.” She said leaning back against him. “It’s the meadow behind my parent’s summer house. I always loved this place.”

“Well it’s a beautiful painting. And I must admit that I’m surprised you didn’t end up covered in paint with Beetlejuice as your partner.”

Delia laughed, “Me too to be honest.”

“Hey Debra!”

The couple jumped apart surprised by the presence of the demon, who had a grin plastered on his face. That was never a good sign.

“We could use this paint to paint some of the walls! Cause honestly this house is too boring!” and with that he disappeared upstairs, taking a bunch of paint bottle with him.

Delia and Charles looked at each other before chasing after him.

“Beetlejuice don’t do that!”

“I swear if you put paint on any of the walls, I’ll exorcise you myself!”

“Good luck with that Chuck! I’m a demon remember!”

It seemed like Delia’s quiet day was finally over.


	15. Highschool AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charles and Delia are high school students both working on the school play.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one shot was inspired by @blossem12 and @blind-band-geek Maitland!Highschool AU (which you can read here : https://archiveofourown.org/works/20030665/chapters/47431429 ) as well as @netherliings discussions with anons on Tumblr!!

« Come on Lydia. Hurry up I’m going to be late.”

If there was one thing Charles Deetz hated more than anything it was to be late. And right now he was almost late to the drama club rehearsal. Which would be immediately noticed by his fellow classmates since he was the director of the play this year. Something he was quite proud since he was only a sophomore and it was usually something reserved to Seniors.

“But why do I have to come too?” whined a five-year old Lydia Deetz, Charles’s little sister.

“You have to come with me because mommy and daddy are on a business trip and I can not leave you at home on your own.”

“They’re never at home.” Muttered Lydia, kicking a rock with her foot.

Charles didn’t say anything. He took her by the hand and walked as fast as his sister’s legs could go in hope to be on time.

It was true that their parents were more often away than with them at home. Charles had had to take care of Lydia almost since she was born. He understood that their parents were doing that for them. And that they loved them. Something the toddler had a hard time understanding. Charles couldn’t blame her. He remembers being her age and left almost on his own, except for the nanny, and being scared that his parents were never going to come back.

They finally arrived at the school and Charles guided them to the theatre. Two minutes early. Perfect. Before entering the room, he got on one knee to be able to look in his sister’s eyes.

“Listen Lyds, I know it’s not fun and you would like to be at home but I need you to behave okay?”

After a small moment the little girl nodded.

“Good girl!” Charles added with a smile pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“Ew!” with a dramatic movement, Lydia wiped the cheek he had just kissed.

Charles chuckled. Maybe she could join the troop in a few years. He opened the door, and immediately everyone standing on the stage turned toward him.

“Hello everyone!”

A chorus of hellos answered him.

“Sorry I’m almost late. Okay so today we’re going to work on the first scene of act 2 as well as the final scene of act 1. Are we missing anyone?”

He looked up at the students, quickly trying to notice any missing people.

“I think everyone is here.” Said Barbara.

Barbara Miller was a junior. Very good in class and at acting, she had somehow landed in the main role, although she was often discreet, always kind to others. She was also, very probably, in love with Adam Maitland, their tech guy.

Charles made a point to know the best he could the people he had to work with. He clapped his hands.

“Good!”

“Yeah good.” Said a voice full of sarcasm.

Jack Redwood. A Senior. Bad at everything except Spanish he had wanted to be the director for the play this year but was beaten by Charles when the teacher had decided to let a student direct the play this year. He was also a massive jackass.

Charles frowned, “A problem Jack?”

“Yes. I have a problem with a sophomore directing the play. Everyone knows it should have been me and not your stupid face.”

Charles was about to respond when a voice beat him to it,

“Well maybe if you weren’t such an asshole you would have gotten the job. Plus, with you as our director the play would have probably been a disaster. So, for once, let Charles do his job, he’s better at it than you.”

Delia Schlimmer, Sophomore, like Charles. She was their make up artist and also took care of the hair and wigs. Very good at what she did, always wearing bright colors. No real friends, average in class but always ready to stand up for others. And Charles had a massive crush on her.

Jack got red in the face and Charles quickly interrupted the incoming fight,

“Okay enough! Top of act 2! Go!”

He took a seat next to Lydia. From then the rehearsal went smoothly. Everything was coming together nicely and Charles was sure the play was going to be a success.  At the end of the rehearsal he thanked everyone and gave each one their notes, telling them what they needed to work on. He blushed slightly when his hand brushed Delia’s, earning a small smirk from Barbara, show was the only one who seemed to have noticed his affection for the redhead.

Everyone went on their way. Charles went back to Lydia and helped her out of the seat before taking her hand, making his way to his car, a recent present for his 16th birthday.

“Come on Lyds. If we hurry, we might avoid the rain.”

They were almost out when he heard something.

“Standing up for your stupid boyfriend huh?”

It was Jack.

“He’s not my boyfriend. Leave me alone.”

And that was Delia. Charles frowned. The sound of someone being slammed against the lockers echoed around the now empty halls. He heard Delia letting out a small cry of pain. He motioned to Lydia to stay here while he made his way toward the sound. He turned to the hall on his left. Jack had trapped Delia against the lockers, blocking her way out.  

“I’m warning you Schlimmer. Never ever insult me again in front of everyone like that.”

Charles marched toward them.

“She told you to leave her alone.”

Both Delia and Jack turned their head toward him. He could see the relief in Delia’s eyes. Jack let out a small laugh,

“Look Schlimmer, looks like your boyfriend is here to help you.”

“Come on Jack. Don’t be an idiot. Let her go.” Charles tried his best to calm the senior down. He was in no way able to take him down if a fight started.

Luckily Jack wasn’t a complete moron and pushed Delia roughly away from him. Charles quickly grabbed her arm so she wouldn’t fall. They watched in silence as Jack made his way out of the school. Once he was gone, Charles turned toward Delia,

“Are you ok Delia?”

“Yes” she answered, “Thank you Charles.”

They made their way back to where Lydia was waiting.

“Can We go home now?” whined the toddler.

He heard Delia giggle behind him, the sound making his heart beat faster.

“Yes, we can go home.”

The three of them made their way out. The rain was pouring outside. Charles took Lydia in his arms, hoping to make his way to their car faster this way. He looked at Deli, who looked like she wasn’t going to move at all.

“are you okay?”

“What? Oh sorry. Umm. I asked my parents to come get me but it seems like they forgot. Again.”

Charles knew that Delia parents were rich. But now that he was thinking about it, he had never seen her parents. But he couldn’t believe that they would just “forget” their daughter.

“I guess I’ll go home on foot.”

Charles quickly grabbed her arm, preventing her from leaving.

“Wait! It’s raining cats and dogs. I’m not going to let you go home like that. I have a car. I can give you a ride.”

Delia hesitated,

“Are you sure? I don’t want to impose on you.”

“You won’t Delia. Come on. Let’s go.”

The three of them ran to the car. Charles quickly strapped Lydia in the backseat before climbing behind the wheel, Delia in the passenger seat. Charles got distracted for a moment, watching Delia putting a wet strand of hair behind her hear. Sensing his stare, the redhead turned to him, smiling. Once again, Charles felt his cheeks go warm and he cleared his throat.

“Okay! Here we go.”

He started the car and followed Delia’s directions until they arrived in front of her home.

“Thank you for the ride Charles.” She hesitated before adding, “and thank you for standing up for me.”

“You’re welcome. It was perfectly normal. I couldn’t let him hurt you.”

His words caused a bright smile to appear on her face and Charles froze as she leaned toward him, planting a kiss on his cheek.

Delia opened the door, turning toward the backseat,

“Bye Lydia!”, she turned toward a red Charles, “Bye Charles, see you tomorrow!”

Lydia waved as Delia ran to her front door.

“Yes. Bye. Tomorrow… I mean goodbye. See you, bye... uh tomorrow!” screamed Charles completely flustered.

Delia turned back toward him laughing slightly as she waved before closing her door.

Charles didn’t do anything for a moment. Delia had kissed his cheek. He knew he had a stupid smile plastered on his face. He was pulled out of his stupor by his sister,

“Why are you all red?” asked Lydia.

“What?! I’m not.. I’m.. Just. Let’s go home.”

He started the car and took the direction of their home. Suddenly Lydia’s little voice interrupted the silent ride,

“Charles and Delia seating in the tree, K. I. S. S…”

“Lydia!”


	16. Soulmate AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the name of your soulmate appears on random place on your body

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Another one shot! This one is long and is a soulmate AU! It’s a CharlesxEmily and a CharlesxDelia one! I hope you’ll like it and don’t hesitate to leave a comment or kudos!
> 
> The idea of a plus-sized Emily is from @blossem12 idea and @blind-band-geek and @lilliegoat ‘s drawings, and Allison is from @netherliings! (tumblr)

Charles Deetz is six years old when his soulmate’s name appears on his skin. His mother is giving him a bath and she suddenly let out a cry of joy, startling him and spilling water on the floor,

“Oh, my baby! You have a mark!”

At first Charles doesn’t really understand what his mother is talking about. He knows about soulmates of course. He knows that some people get what they call a soulmate mark. It’s supposed to be your soulmate’s name. The name of the one person in the universe you won’t be able to live without the moment you meet them.

“Oh my god, sweetie! It’s amazing!” his mother plants a big kiss on his cheek.

Of course, she’s happy he has a soulmate. His parents are soulmates and they always talked about how wonderful it was to have someone who understands you completely. But Charles is still a little boy at this point and he doesn’t really understand how the name tattooed on his hip is going to change his life.

Charles already knew how to read so he slowly made out the word written on his skin,

“Em… Emi… Emily!”

“Yes baby! Emily! Your soulmate’s name is Emily.” His mother takes him out of the bath and wraps a towel around him.

“I’m sure you and Emily are going to be very happy in the future!” she exclaimed, poking the mark with her finger. Charles giggles slightly as her movement tickles him.

*****************

But then Charles grown up and he understands more how much this Emily could possibly impact his life is he ever meets her. Because that’s the problem with soulmates. You only know their name, so you don’t really have anything to go by if you want to meet them. Charles also knows that Emily and him could be platonic soulmates only, which honestly was fine with him, even if he craved the loving relationship his parents shared.

He also quickly discovered that Emily was a very common name. there had to be at least forty in his high school and probably a dozen in his year alone. And none of them had ever struck Charles as a possible candidate to be  _the_  Emily. But he doesn’t worry too much. Yes, there is impatience but after all he’s only 16 and most of his classmates don’t even have a mark yet. And some of them never will.

When the others learn that his has a soulmate’s mark, Charles’s life becomes a little bit more difficult at school. His closest friends are happy for him but most of his other classmates are just jealous. Society sell this “soulmates” thing like a relationship with your soulmate is the only one worth living. Charles disagrees with that of course. But he’s not really convincible when he has himself a mark.

And the whole soulmate thing is what causes the fight he gets caught in, in the hallways.

One of the bullies of the school, Henry, grabs him suddenly by his collar and slams him into the wall.

“So,” he sneered, “Little rich boy has a mark? Let’s see it!”

“No. I’m not going to show it to you!” exclaims Charles, trying to break free.

“Why not? I’m sure it’s on your ass, right?” Henry let out a booming laugh. A few of his friends laughed with him while others students just watched, not knowing what to do.

“Leave me alone!” screamed Charles, as henry started to tug on his pant.

The bully had almost succeeded in his task when a voice stopped him.

“Hey! Stop that!”

He turns to come face to face with a blonde girl. Charles recognizes her as the new transfer student from out of state.  She’s tall, plus-size and dress all in black. Even in his predicament, Charles can’t help but think that she’s beautiful.

“Are you talking to me?”

Henry seems to have found a new target but luckily for the girls, and probably him, thinks Charles, the principle arrives, putting an end to the fight.

Charles pulls his pant back up when the new girl steps in front of him.

“Are you okay?” her voice his soft and Charles feels his cheeks turn pink.

“Yes... Um... thank you!” stammered the teenager.

“I’m Emily Cornwell! What’s your name?”

Oh. That’s when everything clicks in Charles’s mind. He is sure this is  _the_  Emily. He shakes her outstretched hand,

“I’m Charles Deetz.”

She tilts her head to the side studying him,

“Hey! My mark says Charles!” she suddenly exclaims.

He felt his hear beat faster. She had a mark saying his name! Say something you idiot!

“Uh… I have a mark too. And it says Emily!”

“Oh, this is so cool!” she clapped her hand together, jumping up and down.

And Charles can’t help but smile at her enthusiast.

****************

From then everything is perfect. They start dating soon and Charles is completely head over heels over a month. He knows he wants to spend the rest of his life with Emily.

After high school they both go to college, he studies business and she studies law. Soon they graduate and they get married. Charles couldn’t be happier. But then they have a baby. Charles is terrified and overjoyed at the same time.

The first time he held Lydia in his arms he cried. They had a family, a house, and they loved each other. Everything was perfect. And then Emily got sick.

When the doctor tells them she had cancer, they hold on to the hope that cancer can be cured. And the doctors seem pretty optimistic about her case. But it doesn’t get better. Lydia had just started high school when Emily’s health gets really bad.

Charles feels helpless, watching his wife in the hospital bed. Knowing there was nothing he could do to heal her and make her feel better. But at this point Emily seems to have accepted her fate, and it hurts him that his wife, who’s always been a fighter, is giving up.  

The three of them are huddled together of the small bed, knowing what is going to happen. Lydia is sobbing in her mother’s arms and Charles can’t hold back his tears anymore.

Emily make him promise that he’ll take care of their baby girl and that they’ll try to be as happy as possible together. Charles nods, not trusting his voice at the moment. He managed to get out a last “I love you”. He knows that the long, constant beep that follows is going to haunt him for the rest of his life.

****************

It’s been two months since Emily passed away. And Charles is lost. His soulmate is gone. The person he was supposed to spend his life with is not here anymore. And to make the matter worse, his relationship with Lydia was deteriorating. His daughter didn’t seem to want to talk to him anymore and he was worried about.

After one night of restless sleep, again, Charles decided to take a bath. It always calmed him down. As he steps in the hot water, the business man let out a contented sigh, making sure to not look at the name on his left hip. This mark would always be there, a permanent reminder of what he lost.

Charles throw his head back, propping his left foot on the edge of the tub, trying o relax. And that’s when he sees it. At first, his brain doesn’t really comprehend what he’s reading. Charles knows it’s futile but he tries to rub it out, maybe it’s just dirt. But it’s not. He knows it’s not. On the top of his left foot is a mark. A new soulmate mark. He knows it’s possible for people to have multiple soulmates. But it’s rare. And it’s only been two months since his soulmate’s death. His  _first_  soulmate.

At first, he’s angry. He doesn’t want another soulmate. He wants his wife back. But there’s another part of him that slowly takes over. He can’t help but feel hopeful. There is someone out there who might be his soulmate. Someone that could make him happy.

Delia.  

He searches in his memory for any Delia he might have met but he’s 99% sure he has never met a Delia. He likes the name. Delia. It sounds soft and somehow optimistic.

Charles slowly gets out of the bath. He falls asleep almost instantly that night. The next morning, he can’t help but check. The name is still here. For the first time since Emily’s death, Charles has a goal, finding his new soulmate.

***************

It’s been a month since the new mark appeared and Charles still hasn’t found any Delia. He knows he can take time. But he needs to find her. His relationship with Lydia isn’t improving and he desperately need something positive right now.

He’s walking down the busy New York streets when he collides into someone.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry Sir I wasn’t looking where I was going!”

The woman in front of him is beautiful. She has big brow, eyes. Her red hair tied in a complicated bun and with her bright pink dress, she forms a stark contrast against the mostly Black and white outfits of the other New-Yorkers around them.

“Huh… That’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” Says Charles, noticing that she’s carrying a box of visit cards under her arms. But before he can say anything else, the woman speaks again,

“I’m sorry once again! I really need to go; I have a meeting!” but before going away, she reaches into the box, giving him a card, “But if you ever need a life coach don’t hesitate to contact me Sir! It’s like my guru Otho always say, “People who need help often don’t even realize it so you have to push your way through like a fish in between the nets!””

And before he can say anything, she’s gone. Charles stay stunned in the middles of the street for a moment, before making his way back home. He looks at the card and freezes,

_Delia Schlimmer, life coach!_

Underneath her name is a picture of her and a phone number. Charles wants to call her but he needs a reason first. He can’t just call a woman he just met, telling her “Hey! Remember me? I think I might be your soulmate.”

But once he thinks about it, he might need a life coach. Maybe is could be what Lydia needed! Happy with himself he quickly grabs his phone dialing Delia’s number.

******************

They met two days later in small café. They quickly discuss the arrangement and Delia is hired almost immediately. And Charles is smitten. He loves her optimism and enthusiast.

They’re about to leave and Charles hesitates before finally talking about his mark,

“Listen Delia, I’m sorry to bring that up but I have to tell you that the life coach thing is not the only reason I wanted to see you.”

Delia lets out a small “oh?” and looks up at him with her wide brown eyes and Charles feels his heart starting to beat faster.

“Well um…” here we go, “About a month ago, a mark appeared on my foot. A soulmate mark. And it says “Delia”.”

For a moment Delia is silent and Charles wants to hide under the table. But a bright smile appears on her face and she brings the sleeve of her dress down, revealing his name, marked on her skin.

“Looks like we found each other!” she happily said.

“Yes. Looks like we did.” Says Charles, a big smile on his face.

He found her, his soulmate. They meet again a few times and Charles falls in love with her quickly thank he could have imagined. They both agree to keep, their relationship a secret from Lydia. Soon enough, the three of them move in Connecticut, not knowing how much their new house was going to change their lives just yet.

******************

Somehow after the whole Beetlejuice incident, Charles find himself living with his daughter, fiancée, a dead couple and a demon. If someone had told him that five years ago, he would have laughed.

The house was often more chaos than calm but they had learned to live with their differences. Ans somehow, they made it work.

One day, Delia is trying to do something with Lydia’s hair for their wedding, when she suddenly exclaims,

“Oh! Lydia! You have a mark!”

“What?!” the teenager asks, as everyone gathers around her.

“Yes, I see it! It’s on the back of your neck!” adds Barbara.

“It says “Allison”” says Adam.

“Bahaha! Lydia is going to have a girlfriend!” mocks Beetlejuice, floating away as Lydia tries to stab him with one of the hair pins.

The house erupts into chaos once more, everyone wondering who Lydia’s soulmate could be. Charles can’t help but smile, happy that his daughter might get the chance to experience what he had, but also glad that he had a family, even as weird as this one was.


	17. Plus One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Deetz find out why Delia isn’t feeling so well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I had this idea for a long time now and I finally wrote it! It’s my longest one shot yet (more than 3200 words!) and I’m not sure I’m fully satisfied with it. But here you go! Enjoy! Don’t hesitate to leave a comment or kudos! I love hearing your thoughts on my work!

When Lydia comes homes this evening, she’s surprised by how quiet the house is. Except for her dad, who was still at work, everyone else was supposed to be here. Frowning, the teenager closed the front door,

“Hey everyone! I’m home!”

Immediately Barbara appeared in the entrance, a finger on her mouth in a shushing motion. Now Lydia was really confused. Sensing it, the ghost immediately explained,

“Delia is asleep on the couch. She seemed really tired; we don’t want to wake her up.”

Lydia nodded. But now another question came to occupy her mind. Why was Delia so tired lately? Her step mother had been really tired for almost two weeks now. She went to bed early and took at least one nap during the day, which was something completely new. She knew her father was worried. After all they had already lost a family member because of an illness. But other than being tired and a little dizzy sometime, Delia was perfectly fine. She didn’t have any fever so she didn’t want to see a doctor even if Charles had insisted a few times.

The teenager shrugged and went into her room putting her bag near her bed before getting back down.

“Hi Lydia.” Whispered Adam as she entered the living room.

She smiled at him before looking toward the life coach. Like Barbara had said, Delia was asleep on the couch, a blanket draped over her that the dead couple probably put there. Lydia took a seat next to Adam,

“Where is Beetlejuice?”

Adam chuckled, “Well, he wanted to draw on Delia’s face so we sent him away for a while.” He paused before adding, “Do you need help with any of your homework?”

“Actually yes. I have a history essay to write.”

“History is my favorite subject so let’s get started.”

Lydia quickly went back in her room to get her history book. They both worked in silence, as Barbara was watering the plants. Around 7, Charles arrived home. Once again, the blonde ghost made the shushing motion, and like his daughter, Charles was confused.

“What’s going on?” he whispered.

“Delia is asleep on the couch. We’re trying not to wake her up.” Repeated Barbara.

“Again?” the man exclaimed quietly.

Now he was getting worried. Delia wasn’t getting any better and she still refused to see any doctor, claiming that she was feeling fine, just tired. He quickly made his way to the living room. kissing Lydia on her forehead as she passed by him and waving at Adam who disappeared through a wall. Charles went to the last person still in the room. Delia.

He sighed as he sat on the edge of the couch, slowly he stroked her cheek hoping o wake her up gently. Almost immediately, the woman stirred, letting out a small groan. Charles was patient, waiting for her to wake up completely. Soon enough she opened her eyes and settled them on him, a smile appearing on her face,

“Hey.”

“Hey.” Charles answered softly.

Delia looked around her, only realizing now that she had fallen asleep on the couch.

“Oh. I fell asleep again?”

Charles shrugged, “it seems so. Are you sure you are okay, honey?”

“Yes Charles, I’m sure.” She said, taking his hands into hers. “I’ve just been tired. It’s probably winter coming along. And you must admit we had a tiring year.”

He definitely couldn’t argue with that. Delia sat up and Charles put an arm around her.

“I know but please Delia, I’m worried. We could at least go see the doctor. Just to make sure everything is fine.”

The redhead thought about it for a moment. She had to admit that she was beginning to ask herself some questions. She had never felt so tired in her entire life. She slowly nodded,

“Okay. If I don’t feel better by next week, we’ll make an appointment.”

Charles smiled, relieved that she was agreeing with him. He got up from the couch, but Delia tugged on his arm forcing him to sit back down.

“Hey!” she whined.

The businessman gave her a questioning look.

“You didn’t even kiss me!”

Charles chuckled, leaning down to press his lips against her in a sweet kiss.

***************

Later in the evening, Delia was in bed, reading a book about crystals and their properties. Charles got out of the bathroom and, after closing the door of their bedroom, quickly joined her under the cover, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head on her stomach. It made the life coach giggled. Charles didn’t seem like it at first, but he actually loved cuddles. Delia gently ran a hand in his hair, as he let out a contented sigh.

They stayed like that for a moment, just enjoying the calm, since Beetlejuice hadn’t come back yet, and each other. Charles gently rubbed her stomach and Delia immediately tensed. She didn’t know why but that gesture made her realize what was going on. Tired, dizzy and sometime nauseous in the morning,

“Oh my god.” She slowly said.

Charles immediately looked up to her, feeling her discomfort.

“What?” he asked, worried.

“Charles! What if I’m…” she was hyperventilating now, unable to get the last word out.

Charles quickly sat up, cupping her face in an attempt to calm her down,

“Delia calm down. What is going on? Do I need to call someone?” he gently asked,

“Charles. I think I might be… pregnant.”

The silence that followed was deafening. Charles just looked at her with wide eyes for a moment before speaking again,

“But... But you take the pill….”

“I know! But it’s not 100% full proof! And we don’t use any other protections. But think about it. I’m tired all the time, I feel dizzy, sometime I’m sick in the morning, but other than that I feel completely fine. It fits!”

Once again silence enveloped them. Then Charles started to laugh,

“Oh my god Delia! What are we going to do?”

Delia couldn’t help but laugh with him,

“Well I guess the first thing we have to do is to take a test. I mean, I might not be pregnant and it might be something else entirely.”

“yeah. Yeah you’re right.” Said Charles, getting his nervous laughter under control, “Do you have any tests?”

“No. I’ll need to by some. I’ll go tomorrow.”

“No. I’ll go. I don’t have to work tomorrow. So, I’ll go early in the morning and you can sleep.”

Delia gave him and adoring look and smile and it made his heart flutter. She pressed a quick kiss on his lips,

“Thank you.”

“Anything for you.” He replied, kissing her once more.

They quickly settled back into bed and turned off their lights. None of them managed to fall asleep until late into the night.

******************

Charles woke up early the next morning. He hadn’t slept well. He looked at Delia who was still sound asleep next to him. He couldn’t believe that there was a possibility she could be pregnant. With his child. God, what if she truly was pregnant? Still a little bit stunned by the possibility, Charles got out of bed to get ready for the day.

He pressed a soft kiss on Delia’s forehead before getting downstairs. Everyone else was already up. Lydia was finishing her breakfast, Adam and Barbara were watching TV and somehow Beetlejuice was still missing. Charles wasn’t worried for the demon though. He was probably terrifying some ghosts in the Netherworld or even on one of his “sex-capades” as the green man liked to call them. The business man secretly hope it wasn’t the case because after every single one, Beetlejuice made sure to tell him every detail of what happened.

Once Lydia was done, they got into the car so he could drop her at school. After a few minutes of silence, Lydia turned to her father,

“Is Delia feeling better?”

Charles didn’t know how to respond. He thought about it for a moment,

“Well, she agreed to go see a doctor if she doesn’t feel any better by next week. But don’t worry it’s probably nothing to be worried about.”

Lydia nodded, accepting the answer. They arrived in front of her school so they quickly said goodbye and Charles made his way to the store.

Once he was in the aisle with the pregnancy stuff, Charles was overwhelmed by the amount of pregnancy test there was. He had absolutely no idea of what to chose so he took way too many but at least they’d have the choice on which one to use. He was grateful that the cashier didn’t make any comment, but he saw the way the lady behind him looked at him. And he didn’t like it. A forty-five-year-old man, in a suit, buying pregnancy tests. He had to admit that if he saw the scene himself, he would have judged the man in his place.

Charles quickly made his way back to the car. He put the small plastic bag on the back seat and sat behind the wheel. But he didn’t start the car. He was completely lost. What if Delia was pregnant? Emily and him had never felt the need to have other children after Lydia. But would it actually be a bad thing? He remembered how happy he had been when Emily had told him, and the feeling of pure joy when he held his daughter for the first time. But he was older now. Forty-five. Could he still be a good father? And if he was honest with himself, he hadn’t been great with Lydia. He had done his best but he had never managed to be as close of his daughter as were Emily. What if he fucked it up? What if Delia left him?

He took a deep breath. Charles finally started the car and made his way home. Delia would probably be up by now. At least he hoped so. He couldn’t wait to finally get an answer. But then what if Delia wasn’t pregnant? Then everything would go back to normal. But then what was causing her tiredness? What if it was something more serious?

Charles shook his head, trying to chase any dark thoughts away. The house came into view. He parked and took a deep breath before grabbing the plastic bag without looking at it. Everything was quiet. Adam and Barbara were probably in the attic and Beetlejuice had apparently not reappeared yet. Good. He quickly climbed the stairs and paused for a moment in front of the bedroom. The bag in hand weighing more than it should. Charles silently opened the door, in case Delia was still sleeping. But the moment Charles looked into the room, he met Delia’s eyes. She smiled at him and he could see she was nervous. She looked a little bit paler than usual too.

Delia put her book on the nightstand and walked toward Charles. She was still in her nightgown, her hair down, she got on her toes to kiss her husband who happily kissed her back. They finally broke away and Delia fixed her gaze on the small bag in his hand.

“You… Have everything?” she asked nervously.

“Yes. Maybe even more than we need.” Charles added with a nervous giggle.

Delia nodded,

“Do we take one now?”

“Please. I can’t wait anymore; I need to know.” He almost pleaded with her.

The woman took the bag from him and looked inside.

“Wow. You did take more than we needed.”

Charles was relieved to hear her laugh. She went through the bag and took out two of the tests.

“I guess I’ll take a classic “line” one and a digital one.”

 Her sentence was almost a whisper. But Charles heard it loud and clear. This was happening. His wife was going to take a pregnancy test.

“I’ll be back soon.”

And with that Delia disappeared in the bathroom with the two tests. Charles sat heavily on their bed not really knowing what else to do. Soon enough Delia was back as she set the two tests on the nightstand before taking a seat next to him.

“how long do we…” but Delia interrupted him,

“5 minutes. I set a timer.”

5 minutes that could completely change their lives. Charles took her hand in his. They stayed like that, in silence, for a moment.

“What if they are positive?” Delia asked softly,

Charles turned to look at her. He had always admired Delia. She was beautiful, sure, but she was so much more than that. She was kind, gentle, optimistic, smart and she would never give up on someone. He loved her so much. She would be an amazing mother; Charles was sure of it. But what if she didn’t want a baby.

“Would you… want an abortion?” asked Charles as gently as he could.

The look of horror that appeared on Delia’s face already told him her answer.

“No! Of course not! I mean I support that we have that choice but… I don’t think I’d be able to.” She turned to him, “Would you… would you want me to get an abortion?” she asked in a small voice.

“Of course, not Delia! If you are pregnant then we’re in this together, no matter what. I love you”

“I love you too.”

The silence returned.

“And what if I’m not pregnant?”

“The everything goes back the way it was, I guess.” Charles shrugged, “and we’ll go to the doctor to understand what makes you so tired.”

Charles wrapped an arm around her.

“I’ve always wanted children. I just thought it would never happen. Especially not at 42.” Continued Delia.

The timer went off. For a moment, they didn’t move. The life coach, slowly cupped her husband’s cheeks,

“Listen Charles, I know you don’t like to talk about your feelings but I think I know you now. I know you don’t think you are a good father.”

Charles said nothing, listening to her words, lost in her eyes,

“But I think you’re wrong. You’re an amazing father to Lydia. Raising a teenager is hard and you two went through something terrible. But you did great. Lydia loves you. She admires you. And if those tests are positive then… I couldn’t think of a better man to be the father of my child.”

Charles felt his heart swell at her words. Trying to believe them as he choked back his tears.

“Well I guess it’s time to find out” he said, gesturing toward the tests.

“yes.”

Delia took a deep breath and took the first test. They both looked at it. Charles felt his heart miss a beat. There was no doubt about the result. It was faint but it was there. There was a second line. It was positive.

“Oh my god! Charles!” exclaimed Delia, grabbing his arm.

“Look at the other one!” pressed Charles, his emotions a complete mess as the result slowly made his way to his brain.

Delia took the digital one, letting out a small laugh before turning it toward him.

_Pregnant._

There was no doubt now. Two positive tests. Delia was pregnant. They were pregnant.

“Charles we’re going to have a baby!”

Charles was terrified. He was going to be a father. Again. But he didn’t expect he joy that he felt at the moment he read the word “pregnant” on the test. Another baby. He took Delia in his arms, laughing with her slightly.

“Yes. We’re going to be parents.”

 They broke apart and Charles immediately captured her lips in a passionate kiss.

“I love you Delia.” He whispered against her lips as they broke apart. “And you’re going to be an amazing mother.”

Delia smiled sweetly at him, stroking his cheeks with her thumbs. Before suddenly exclaiming,

“We need to tell the others!”

“Do you want to tell them today? Or wait for an appointment with the doctor?”

“Could we tell them today? You know me. I don’t think I can keep this to myself for very long.”

Charles chuckled at her words,

“Okay. We’ll tell them tonight.”

******************

Delia was nervous. She hadn’t touched her food, playing with her hands under the table. Adam and Barbara were talking about one of their projects for the attic. Beetlejuice had got back during the afternoon and was currently launching peas through the window and Lydia was getting her peas in Beetlejuice plate while he was not looking.

Charles grabbed her hand underneath the table. She looked at him. He was as nervous as she was but she nodded. Everyone was finished and it was finally the time to announce the big news. Delia was scared to see how they were going to react. Especially Lydia. Beside her, Charles cleared his throat loudly, gaining everyone’s attention,

“Delia and I have something to tell to you” he felt her squeeze his hand, “We finally found out what’s making her so tired.”

Barbara let out a small “oh”, looking intensely at the couple. Delia spoke for the first time since the beginning of the dinner,

“Well yes. Uh… I’m pregnant!” she finally said with a bright smile.

For a moment no one spoke. Delia was feeling faint. Oh god. They were going to throw her out.  But Beetlejuice’s voice broke the silence,

“Ha Ha! I knew it! I won our bet, you owe me twenty dollars! The three of you!”

“Wait what?” asked Charles confused

“Well we had our suspicions so we bet on whether or not you were pregnant.” Said Adam with an apologetic gaze to the living couple.

“It was Beetlejuice idea.” Quickly added Barbara.

“Hey!” exclaimed the demon.

“Oh my god. You all knew?” asked Delia completely stunned but relieved.

“Well Adam and I weren’t sure. So, we bet that it was just a bug. Beetlejuice bet that you were pregnant and Lydia was sure you weren’t so she bet a “no””. explained Barbara.

Delia turned to the teenager. Lydia hadn’t said a word. She was looking at her stepmother with a blank stare. But before Delia could say anything to her, Barbara and Adam got up, hugging the other couple,

“Congratulations to you both!” said Adam.

“Congratulations!” repeated Barbara.

They both took the plates that were on the table and went to the kitchen to start washing the dishes. Beetlejuice got up next, hugging them both too. Which was awkward. Beetlejuice hugs were always a little bit awkward.

“Congratulations Chuck and Deborah! I’ll make sure this one will grow up to be a real demon.”

And with that, the green haired man disappeared.

“We’ll sure have to be careful with a demon around a small child.” Sighed Charles.

Lydia was the only one left. She slowly got up from her chair and stopped in front of Delia. She watched as her father wrapped an arm around the woman.

“So, Lydia. What do you think about becoming a big sister?” asked Delia softly.

The teenager fixed her gaze on her stepmother’s still flat stomach, narrowing her eyes. Finally, the teenager spoke,

“I want a little sister.”

And with that Lydia made her way upstairs. Delia and Charles looked at each other before laughing.

“Well I think it went well.” The business man said, resting his hand on her stomach.

“Yes. Yes, it did.” Whispered Delia with a bright smile, resting her hand above his.


	18. Equals seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nine long months later, Delia finally gives birth to her baby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a direct sequel to my other one-shot Plus One!  
> Disclaimer : I have don't have a medical training and don't have any children so I'm sorry for any mistakes of non-sense!

Delia’s pregnancy passed by as fine as it could have gotten. Sure, there had been crying, screaming, and also fear. The fear had been at its peak when the future mother had suddenly collapsed in Beetlejuice’s arms during her fifth month. But the doctor had told them that it was just exhaustion and that Delia needed to take it easy until her the end of her term. Easier said than done when you live with a teenager, a demon and two ghosts.

 But there was also happiness, laughing and being a family. Because Delia’s pregnancy had had an effect no one expected, everyone got closer and they now felt like a real family.

Barbara had helped the life coach a lot. She had refused to tell her that Adam and her had lost a child not too long before their deaths. She didn’t want to stress Delia more than she already was. The dead woman had gotten significantly closer to the redhead. They had read books about pregnancy together and talked about how the house was about to become even more chaotic than was with the arrival of a baby. Adam had helped too in his own way, keeping Delia company while everyone else was out.

Beetlejuice’s behavior had been a surprise for everyone. As the pregnancy progressed the demon spent less and less time near Delia. Almost afraid to stand less than five feet away from her. Mostly locking himself away in Lydia’s room. Lydia on the other hand, had become more and more curious during the pregnancy. She spoke to her stepmom about what was going to happen when the baby would be here. The teenager was excited to become a big sister.

The future father was probably the most stressed out of all of them. Charles had become over-protective of Delia, which he already was, but this had gotten out of hand. He refused to leave the house, working at home. At one point, his wife had purposefully locked him out of the house, forcing him to go to the office. He had not been happy about it but understood that maybe he had overreacted. Of course, the “collapsing episode” did not help at all.

But the pregnancy was coming to an end. Thank god, thought Delia as she sat on the couch. She put her hands on her enlarged stomach. She didn’t think it was possible to become this big without exploding. She played with her necklace; a moonstone had joined her amethyst. It was a reputed stone for a good pregnancy. With all the crystals Delia had scattered around the house she clearly hoped at least one of them will help. A smile appeared on her face as she looked at the board, they had out in the living room.

Apparently, bets became a habit in the house. They had bet on if the baby was a girl or a boy. Delia, Beetlejuice and Barbara bet it was a boy and Charles, Lydia and Adam a girl. Charles and her had ended up deciding not to know before the actual birth. The other bet was on her due date. The doctor had told her it would be on March 22nd. Delia had trusted her doctor and bet on March 22nd as did Adam, Charles on March 19th, Beetlejuice and Lydia on March 20th, and Barbara on March 25th. Charles, Beetlejuice and Lydia’s names were already crossed out. And It seemed like Adam and hers were next. Apparently, her uterus was so comfy that the little human inside didn’t want to get out. The life coach sighed, rubbing her belly gently,

“I know you like it in here, but I’d appreciate if you’d come out soon.” She laughed slightly as she felt the baby kicking, “Your father and I are really impatient to meet you. The others too. Our family is a bit crazy. But I’m sure you’re going to love it. We’re lucky you know, to have a family who loves us. Your father is the most wonderful man I’ve ever met. The first one to actually treat me with respect. He loves you very much already. Even if he’s scared. We all are.”

She paused. The baby kicked again. Apparently, they liked her voice,

“Lydia, your big sister, is amazing too. She’s going to show you everything you need to know. And then there’s Adam and Barbara. They’re going to be the best aunt and uncle ever. They can’t wait to meet you. They’re not really your aunt and uncle but it doesn’t matter, they’re family. And then there’s Beetlejuice. He’s… weird. But I’m sure you’re going to love him too. He just needs some love. And his hair changes color it’s fun! I’m sure you’ll love that.”

The baby kept kicking and Delia hummed. The front door opened and Lydia and Charles stepped inside the house.

‘Hello you two!” she exclaimed happily, “How was school Lydia?”

“Boring as always.’ Said the teen, “I have another history essay to write though, so I’m going to see if Adam can help me!” she added, as she climbed to stairs.

Charles hung his coat before making his way toward his wife.

“Hi you.”

Delia giggled, “Hi.”

He kissed her lips and sat next to her, resting one of his hand above hers.

“How are you?”

“Fine. I just can’t wait for this baby to come out.”

“You and me both!” chuckled Charles, rubbing her stomach gently. “You didn’t feel anything that could indicate that labor was going to start soon?”

Delia sighed. She knew her husband was worried. Her due date was tomorrow.

“No. I mean my back is killing me but other than that nothing new.”

She rested her head on his shoulder, happy to have someone she could lean on, literally, to help her go through this exhausting journey. She had always wanted to be a mother. Her whish had never been so close to become reality.

****************

Later that night, all of them were watching TV. Adam and Barbara cuddling on one end of the couch, Delia and Charles on the other. Beetlejuice and Lydia were seating on the floor, munching on some pop-corn.

The weird feeling that Delia had felt in her back all day was getting worse. Pain was coming and going and she was started to ask herself if this was it. But she didn’t say anything, not wanting an unnecessary trip to the hospital. Plus, the she knew that she shouldn’t be worried about going to the hospital unless her water broke. The pain was probably nothing.

Suddenly, a sharp pain traveled through her stomach. That was new. She couldn’t help the small noise that escaped her. Immediately the five other people in the room fixed their eyes on her. Charles’s arm tightened slightly around her,

“Delia? Are you alright?”

“Yes! I’m fine. Sorry! I think I’m just going to go lay down a little bit.”

With the help of her husband she got up from the couch. She was at the base of the stairs when another pain ripped through her mi-section. But she managed to stay quiet. She began to painfully climb the stairs. Stairs shouldn’t even exist when you’re pregnant.

She finally arrived at the top. She paused for a moment. No pain. Good. Maybe she just needed to move a bit. Delia hesitated before deciding on taking a shower. She entered into the bathroom and quickly took her dress off before stepping under the warm water. Yes. That was definitely great.

“Oh god!” she couldn’t prevent the words from coming out as another pain took over.

She took a deep breath. These were definitely contractions. Delia thought about calling Charles, but decided against it. A quick shower couldn’t hurt. She was in the early stage of labor and she probably had at least a few hours before the baby showed up.

“And my water didn’t break yet.” She voiced out loud.

And that’s exactly when her water broke. The liquid came down in one big splash. Okay. So now they needed to go to the hospital. As fast as she could, everything seemed to take more time with a stomach the seize of a big watermelon, Delia finished her shower. Good thing she was actually in the shower when that happened. She quickly put a clean dress on and wobbled back downstairs. She was only five steps away from her goal when another contraction took over.

At her cry of pain, Charles immediately run at her side.

“Delia what’s going on?” he asked, trying to stay calm as he started to panic.

“My water broke. We need to go to the hospital.”

Silence followed her words and then… chaos. Charles panicked completely searching for the car keys as Lydia bolted upstairs to get the bags they had prepared. Adam and Barbara helped her get to the front door and Beetlejuice stayed rooted on the floor, looking at the life coach with wide eyes.

At one point they finally managed to get to car. Lydia decided to stay with the Maitlands. She would meet her sibling once they were born. Delia watched them wave as Charles started the car, taking them to the nearest hospital.

Delia focused on her breathing. The contractions were stronger now. God, that ten minutes’ drive was going to be a painful one. Next to her, Charles was pale, gripping the wheel with so much force that his knuckles were white. he broke the silence,

“Are you alright? You seem pretty calm.”

“I’m terrified.” Muttered Delia.

It seemed as if she only truly realized now that they were going to have a baby. She was going to give birth to an actual human being. That was crazy. And she was terrified.

Charles chuckled, “Yeah me too. But everything is going to be fine. You’re going to be an amazing mother Delia.”

“And you’re going to be an amazing father. You already are.”

They finally arrived at the hospital and they were immediately taken to a delivery room; ready to finally met the human they created.

*******************

11 hours. Delia had been in labor for the last 11 hours. She was red and sweaty, pushing the best she could. Charles was next to her, supporting her head and murmuring words of encouragement in her ear.

“Come on Mrs. Deetz! Once last push and this baby should be out.”

The life coach took a deep breath and pushed with all her might. And the baby came out.

“Good job!” exclaimed the mid-wife, putting the little human on her mother’s chest. “It’s a girl.”

Delia let out a cry of joy, tears in her eyes. She had done it. They had a daughter. She turned toward her husband,

“A girl Charles! We have a daughter!”

“Yes, we do.” Muttered Charles, his vision blurry because of his tears.

He leaned down, pressing a kiss on Delia’s forehead.

The mid wives took their daughter back so that they could wash her properly.

A few hours later, after a phone call to the house to announce the good news to the others, Charles was seated in the hospital chair by Delia’s bed, their precious little bundled in his arms.

“We’re so happy your finally here little one.” He cooed gently, “Your mother is very tired,” he looked up at Delia who was fast asleep, “She’s an amazing woman, you’ll see. Her name’s Delia, but you’re probably going to call her mom. I’m Charles, your dad.”

 He paused for a moment, “I’m very happy you’re here. I already have a daughter, Lydia. She’s going to be an amazing big sister. I made a lot of mistakes with her. I’m probably going to make a lot of mistake with you too. But I promise to do my best to be here for you when you need me. I just hope… you’ll let me in.”

Charles was surprised to see his daughter opening her eyes. They were big, blue eyes. But he could already see specks of brown in them. She was going to have the same eyes as her mother. Charles gently stroked her cheek with one of his fingers. Yes. Everything was going to be fine.

*********************

Three days later, Delia and her daughter were finally able to go home. The moment they arrived home, Barbara, Adam and Beetlejuice rushed to meet the new addition to the family.

“Oh, Delia, she’s beautiful.” Said Barbara watching the baby taking her new surroundings in.

“She really is. Congratulations to you both.” Added Adam.

“Why is she all red and wrinkly?” asked Beetlejuice

Charles chuckled, “She was born only three days ago. It’s going to take a few days for her skin to be normal.”

“Come on! Tell us her name!” said Lydia impatiently.

The teenager had already met her sister when she visited them at the hospital two days ago.

“Hey true! You never told us her name!” exclaimed Adam.

Delia and Charles looked at each other.

“Everyone,” began Delia, “meet Olivia, Emily, Barbara Deetz.”

She immediately saw Barbara’s eyes filled with tears.

“You… You named her after me?” the ghost quietly asked.

“Yes. I mean you help us a lot. Around the house, with Lydia and you helped Delia during the pregnancy. It just… felt right.” Said Charles gently.

“I... I don’t know what to say!” Barbara gave a watery-chuckle, a huge smile on her face, “Can I hold her?”

“Of course.”

Delia carefully transferred her daughter into the blonde’s arms, making sure that Barbara could actually hold her despite being a ghost, before letting go of the baby.

“Hi Olivia. I’m Barbara” muttered the dead woman, her eyes fixed on the little girl in her arms.

Delia watched with amazement as each members of her family gathered around Barbara to meet Olivia. Charles wrapped an arm around her shoulders bringing his wife closer to him. The life coach smiled; she finally had a family. She was happier than she had ever been.


	19. Uncle Beetlejuice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beetlejuice entertains Olivia with his color-changing hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one-shot! this one is a little bit shorter but I desesperatly wanted to write Beetlejuice interacting with baby Olivia!   
> Olivia is my OC, she's Charles and Delia's daughter. You can read my one shots Plus One and Equals Seven to get the full Olivia story!

Olivia is a quiet baby. Which is doesn’t mean that Charles and Delia weren’t tired. They are exhausted. But luckily Adam and Barbara help a lot, Lydia too sometimes. But the last 5 months had been hard for everyone. Olivia already had everyone wrapped around her little finger.

Right now, the baby was on her playmat. Watching the various toys hanging from it in wonder with her big brown eyes. The little girl let out a cry of joy as she kicked one of the hanging plush and it swung happily before her eyes. She turned her head slightly, looking at her mother. Delia was asleep on the couch. Well as asleep as you could be with five months old in the room. She could still hear her daughter and often half opened her eyes to check on her. The baby gave her a toothless smile and Delia melt. Olivia seemed pretty occupied right now so she closed her eyes once again. As soon as she did a small “poof” sound echoed in the living room. Beetlejuice. Delia smiled. She knew the demon wasn’t really at ease around Olivia so she kept her eyes close, not wanting to pressure the green haired man.

As soon as he appeared, Olivia’s eyes settled on Beetlejuice. He slowly walked toward her, her big baby eyes never leaving him. He gently sat down next to her mat.

“Hey you” grumbled the demon, “I’m Beetlejuice.”

Olivia let out a small cry and smiled at him. Beetlejuice let out a small laugh,

“yeah you recognize me, don’t you?”

He looked at where Delia was seemingly asleep,

“You’re lucky you know. My mother never really loved me.”

The tips of hair began to turn purple at the mention of his mother. If possible, Olivia’s eyes widened even more. His changing color hair getting her attention. She immediately raised her hands trying to grab his hair. Beetlejuice seemed to notice her goal.

“Oh, you like my hair?”

He hesitated a moment. The baby clearly wanted to touch him. But he had never carried the small child. He was too afraid. She looked so fragile. How could a human being be so small? Olivia let out a cry of frustration. She wanted to touch the weird man’s hair. With a swing of her hips she managed to get on her belly, extending her arms toward Beetlejuice once again. This time the demon reached to take the small child,

“Okay okay, don’t wake your mother.”

He slipped his hands under her arms and as gently as he could, lifted her until they were face to face,

“Better?”

Beetlejuice was far from being serene with the small baby in his hands. Olivia had her gaze fixed on his hair, babbling while trying to reach it. The demon gently sat her down in his laps;

“I can change the color if you want?”

The baby looked at him, titling her head slightly.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

Beetlejuice tried to concentrate. His hair changing color was mostly linked to his emotions. But if he concentrated hard enough, he could do it on purpose. After a few seconds, Olivia let out a cry of delight as his hair turned to orange. The demon smiled. He had to admit that the baby was cute. He looked at Olivia a little bit more. The five months-old already had a tuff of thick brown, almost black hair on her head. It was a stark contrast with her light brown eyes.

“You look like your father.” mused Beetlejuice, “except your eyes. They’re the same as your mother.”

It was true that Olivia looked a lot like Charles already. The baby began to fuss again so he quickly changed his hair color to blue. It was quite weird. Watching the tiny human looking at something so common as color, in wonder. She had seen almost nothing of the world yet. It felt almost wrong to hold her. He was a demon and she was so innocent.  Suddenly, Olivia shift her gaze to his face. She studied him for a moment before smiling and starting to babble.

“You want to tell me something? I don’t understand what you’re saying though.” Mumbled Beetlejuice, his hair turning back to its usual green.

The demon was startled by the sound of someone taking a picture,

“Oops, I thought it was on silent mode.”

Delia was holding her phone in her hand. Looking at her daughter and Beetlejuice with a small smile. Immediately Beetlejuice got up. He saw the smile disappear from Delia’s face since he got up so suddenly with Olivia still in his arms. The baby seemed completely unfazed, drooling on his sleeve.

“You know I don’t show up on pictures Diane,” he quickly gave the little girl to her mother, “And she’s cute and all but she’s still a stinky little human.”

No, he wasn’t a soft demon. He was a scary one. Delia smiled knowingly,

“Of course.”

But Beetlejuice had already disappeared. The life coach tuned toward her daughter. When their eyes met, Olivia let out a cry of joy, a big smile appearing on her little face as she recognized her mother.

“Hello you! You had fun with uncle Beetlejuice?” cooed Delia, pressing a kiss to her daughter’s chubby cheek.

The baby babbled happily. Delia looked at the picture she just took. As expected, Beetlejuice didn’t appear on it, making it look like Olivia was floating in the air, a happy smile on her face. The redhead turned her gaze back to her daughter, the baby attention now focused on her pink dress.

“I think I have an idea,” she got up from the couch, hugging her daughter and making her way to Charles’s study.

*******************

A few days later, Beetlejuice was in Lydia’s room, chasing some bugs, bored while his best friend was at school.

“Beetlejuice?”

The demon’s head snapped toward the door. Delia was standing in the doorway, a piece of paper in her hands.

“Yeah?”

The redhead smiled, handing him the paper,

“I thought you would like this.”

Suspiciously, the green haired man looked at the paper. It was a drawing. A drawing of him and Olivia.

“As you said you didn’t show up on the picture, so I decided to draw it.”

Beetlejuice couldn’t take his eyes away from the paper. The drawing was beautiful. He was holding Olivia who was looking at him with a smile on her face. The demon felt the emotion overtake him, his hair turning pink. He had never had a picture or drawing of him. It felt nice. A memory stored away forever. A memory of his family.

“Uh…” he looked up at Delia who was looking at him with a smile, “Thank you Debra.”

He tried to act as casual as he could. He was a demon dammit. He wasn’t a mushy human.

“You know pink looks good on you.” Said Delia, disappearing in the room next door to answer her daughter’s cries. Beetlejuice watched her go,

“No green is better.” He grumbled, shaking his head to make his hair turn back to its usual color.

He looked back at the paper in his hands. He couldn’t help the smile from forming on his face. The sound of the front door slamming shut echoed around the house, followed by Lydia’s voice,

“I’m home!”

He carefully folded the paper and put it in his jackets’ inner pocket, determine to keep it with him at all time. The demon bolted down the stairs to meet Lydia, impatient to tell her about the new plan he had to make Chuck go crazy.


	20. Minus One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if Delia’s pregnancy hadn’t gone as planned?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay this one is sad. I haven’t updated in a while because I started my job and it’s taking a lot of time and energy so sorry about that.
> 
> I had actually this idea for a while now and I will probably write more one shot about this. But basically, in this version Olivia didn’t exist. To read about the happy version and Olivia you can read my one shots Plus One, Equals Seven and uncle Beetlejuice on Ao3 right here! You will also find all my other Beetlejuice related one shot here!
> 
> So yeah, I’m not really happy with this one because it feels rush but oh well. Enjoy! (especially you @Blossem12)
> 
> TW : miscarriage

 

 

When Delia woke up this morning, she felt weird. But she was now eight weeks pregnant so it was probably normal to feel weird. There was a human being growing inside of her. Which in itself was both amazing and weird. She stretched before getting out of bed. She got up and immediately sat back down, surprised by the dizziness. Delia brought a hand against her head,

“Wow. It’s never been this bad.”

She waited a moment for the dizziness the pass and then got up. She was still a little bit dizzy but it wasn’t as bad. Delia smiled and made her way toward her wardrobe. God her stomach hurt. Okay maybe she should call someone about that. She passed in front of her mirror and froze. Why was there a deep red spot on the hem of her pink nightgown? Her eyes moved toward her legs and she saw the little trickle of blood making its way to the floor. No. This couldn’t be happening. She didn’t even realize she was out of her room until she was met with the Maitlands worried stares, downstairs.

“Delia? What’s wrong?” Gently asked Adam.”

“I think…” the life coach begun, “I think there’s something wrong. With the baby.”  

She was completely out of breath and the dizziness was back. But the seriousness of the situation hit her when she saw Adam and Barbara become completely pale. She could see the tears in their eyes when they realized what was going on. Adam helped her sitting on the stairs. Or did a catch her before she fell to the ground, she wasn’t sure. Barbara was already on the phone,

“Yes hello. Uh I’m Delia Deetz, I am currently eight weeks pregnant and…” Barbara’s voice broke, “I’ think I’m having a miscarriage.”

The blonde looked at the stunned Delia sitting on the floor. She remembered oh too well when it happened to her. Delia deserved so much more than that. But it happened. And she would try to be here for her in this terrible moment.

Adam kneeled in front of Delia, taking her hands in his,

“Oh Delia I’m so sorry.”

“ _I’m so sorry.”_ That’s what people were going to say to her now. I’m sorry. The redhead didn’t say anything, vaguely listening to Barbara impersonating her and giving the paramedics their address before she hung up. The ghost kneeled next to her husband.

“They’re sending an ambulance. They should be here soon.”

And then everything went by as a blur. The medics came in and helped her up, leading her to the ambulance, she could see Adam and Barbara crying in each other’s arm in the entrance before one od the medic closed the door and then she was rushed away to the hospital. She was surprised that she was able to answer to the paramedic’s questions.

Before she knew it, they arrived at the hospital and they gave her a hospital gown to change into and then they did an echography. No heartbeat. The did a blood test and it came back negative. She wasn’t pregnant. Anymore. Her baby was gone. She would never get the chance to hold them in her arms. So, she sobbed. She sobbed and was glad the doctor let her a moment to cry. She cried for so long she didn’t even remember being ushered out of the echography room and back to a hospital bed, where she kept crying. At one point she finally stopped, having cried all the tears of her body. But she didn’t feel any better.

Another doctor entered the room. She recognized he was an obstetrician. He stood near the edge of her bed,

“Mrs. Deetz? I’m Doctor Wallace. We did some test and I am sorry to inform you that you did suffered from a miscarriage.”

To her surprise, and probably the doctor’s, Delia didn’t start crying again, she just nodded so the doctor continued,

“You did suffer from a small hemorrhage too. So, we had to transfuse you with some blood. But it’s something minor. And it’s not worrying. But we are going to keep you over night to make sure everything’s alright.”

Everything was far from being alright but once again Delia nodded. She didn’t even remember receiving the transfusion.

“Do you have any questions Mrs. Deetz.

“Why did it happen?”

It was probably her first coherent sentence since the beginning of the day. The doctor sighed, pushing his glasses back up on his nose,

“I think it’s probably the hardest things with miscarriages, we will never know for sure why you had one. Although it is believed that most of the time it’s because the fetus would have not been viable at birth.”

He put a hand on her shoulder,

“Sometimes these things happen for no reason, you shouldn’t blame yourself.”

If Delia wasn’t so sad, she would have laughed at the irony. “ _These things happen for no reason_ ”, but she was someone who believed everything happened for a reason.

“We’ve called your husband. He should be here any time now.”

The doctor stepped out of the room and Delia started to panic. Her husband. Charles. What was she going to tell him? He was going to hate her. She had lost the baby. Their baby. He was going to leave her and throw her out of the house. Afterall he had already deal with loss not too long ago. He probably wouldn’t want to go through it again.

“Delia?”

And there he was. Standing in the doorway. Looking at her with the saddest expression she had ever seen on his face. She knew by the tears in his eyes that the doctors had already told him what happened. With two big strides, Charles was next to her and wrapped his arms around her in a crushing hug. Delia started to cry again. Heart wrenching sobs that the people next door could probably hear. And Charles cried too, gently stroking his wife’s back and letting his tears fall into her hair.

“I’... I’m… I’m so… so… sorry” finally managed to say Delia between the hiccups.

“No!” Charles cupped her face making her look him into the eyes, “No Delia. It’s not your fault. You have nothing to apologize for. Do you understand that?”

Delia didn’t answer. No, she didn’t believe it. She knew it was probably going to take time before she believes it. But she nodded, and Charles brought her back against his chest.

“I just feel like this was my last chance to be a mother. And it’s gone. Just like that.”

Charles held her a little tighter if it was even possible,

“We could always try again.”

“No.” answered Delia, “I mean not now. I think I’m going to need time.”

“And it’s perfectly fine.” Said her husband, running a hand through her hair. It always managed to sooth her.

They stayed like that for a long time before Delia broke the comfortable silence,

“We’re going to be okay right?”

“Yes sweetheart. We’re going to be okay.” Answered Charles, placing a kiss on her head to seal the deal.


	21. Buy more crystals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charles is in Dallas for a business trip and misses his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're not dreaming. it is an update! Sorry for the long wait but I went through a writer block and I also started my new job so it's taking most of my time!  
> Anyway, this one is just sweet! Enjoy!

Charles sighed as he finally exited the building. He hated these meetings. He had been in Dallas for almost a week now and he had still one more to go. He hadn't been away from home for this long since Emily died. And he was honestly a little bit worried about the state in which the house was going to be when he gets home. A teenager, two ghosts and a demon weren't usually the people you'd trust to keep a house while you're gone. But of course, there was Delia too. Charles smiled. Delia was amazing but he wasn't sure she'd be able to manage the four other inhabitants while he was gone.

Charles started to walk in direction of his hotel. Somehow, he missed the chaotic household. He missed his family. Of course, he had called numerous times to make sure everything was fine but he still missed them. Well Lydia and Delia mostly.

He had pictures of Lydia in his phone that he often looked at while he was on a business trip. Pictures of her as a baby, with Emily, with himself and more recent pictures. He even had a drawing she had made for him when she was little. And looking back at it, the monster she had drawn looked a lot like Beetlejuice. Which was quite confusing.

But if he did miss his daughter, Charles also missed his fiancée. It had been only a month since he proposed. He and Delia had been able to be affectionate in public for only a few weeks and he missed her terribly. And he didn't have any picture or reminders of her while he was away. It had been a safety precaution while their relationship had still been a secret.

Charles sighed. He wanted to go home. But at the same time, he didn't want to have to deal with that damn demon anytime soon. As he took a turn in one of the quieter streets of the city, the businessman found himself face to face with a shop filled with crystals and stones. He couldn't help but smile. It was as fate had heard him complaining about the lack of object, he had to remember Delia.

Charles found himself entering the little store. There were a few people making their way carefully between the different shelves. Charles started to look around. He had never really understood Delia's fascination for the little stones. He didn't believe in their "magic properties" either. But Delia seemed to love then. He had to admit some of them were really pretty.

Charles was about to leave the shop, but really knowing why he had entered it in the first place, when something caught his eye. He made this way back to the shelves where purple stones were lined up. He knew they were amethysts because it was the stone his fiancée wore constantly as a pendant around her neck. But it wasn't the big, expensive looking ones that had caught his attention. It was a small amethyst in the corner. It was so tiny it almost seemed out of place next to the others. But it was reflecting the sunlight perfectly and was more pink than purple. For some reason, the tiny stone reminded him of Delia. Charles carefully took it off the shelves.

"Amethysts are always a good choice."

 Charles almost drop the stone and turned toward the shop owner had made her appearance next to him.

"Amethysts are known to help with concentration and to stimulate creativity and imagination. They are also known appease fear and are perfect against nightmares."

Charles didn't really pay attention to what she was saying, wondering instead how this old lady could stand upright with so much stones on her. It probably weighed a ton.

"Uh... how much for this?"

He showed her the little stone still secured in his hand. The old lady smiled,

"I think two dollars are far enough for this one."

Charles followed her to pay for the amethysts and put it in his bag. He was about to leave when the shop owner's voice interrupted him.

"I'm sure she thinks about you too. And don't worry with him around your family is safe."

 It was clearly a reference to Beetlejuice. He knew it just by the look she gave him. Charles was about to tell her that she probably had never met Beetlejuice to think anyone would be safe around him when he realized that it was an information this woman shouldn't be aware of. He was about to ask her for an explanation but suddenly found himself back outside on the busy streets of the town.

Charles didn't move for a moment. What just happened? This woman seemed to know about Delia and Beetlejuice. Maybe he should go back inside the store to ask for an explanation. He caught a glimpse of the little amethyst in his bag. He had his reminder of Delia now. Charles hesitated a moment before shaking his head and starting to walk to his hotel. So apparently not only demons existed but witches too. The businessman let out a laugh that attracted the stares of some of the people walking past him. But he ignored them. His life was crazy. If someone had told him years ago that he would end up with such a crazy family, h would have laughed.

Charles made a turn to get back on one of the busier streets. He didn’t need to meet another strange entity on his way. He already had met too many if you asked him. Charles sighed. It was a beautiful day. Maybe he could go to the park. It would be nice. Just as he entered the green space, Charles was startled by the vibration coming from his bag. For a terrible moment, Charles thought it was the little stone. Maybe the witch had cursed it. But it was only his phone. Charles shook his head. He really needed to calm down. He quickly grabbed his phone and smiled when he saw who was calling him. He picked up,

“Hello Delia. How are you? I was just thinking about you actually, love.”


	22. Rainbow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia has some fun with some markers and Charles's beard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's just a short sweet and fun one-shot. Enjoy! :)

A few years ago, Charles would have been deeply annoyed by his current working conditions. He was seated at the living room's table and was trying to type a report Maxie had asked him to do. With a teenager, two ghosts and a demon in the house, Charles had to learned how to be patient. He was now able to be a lot more open about what was going on in his house and often let its inhabitants vacate to their diverse occupations without complaining. Well, mostly without complaining.  
  
But right now it wasn't a teenager, a ghost or demon that was distracting him from his work. It was his two years old daughter. Olivia had been a surprise. A huge surprise. But when they had found out Delia was pregnant, Charles had found a new happiness he didn't know he needed.  
  
Olivia was currently seated in his laps, scribbling on a piece of paper with some markers. The toddler was making big, dramatic movements as she drew. She was definitely Delia's daughter. But that meant that Charles had to do some manoeuvring so that he could keep typing, without receiving a marker in his eye and without Olivia falling on the floor.  
  
Charles sighed, his report wasn't getting anywhere. He kept on typing, trying to make sense of what he was writing. The business man was concentrating so hard he didn't realize that his daughter had stopped drawing. Suddenly, Olivia shifted in his laps and he felt something scratched his beard. Charles stilled and looked down. Olivia was coloring his beard with a blue marker. A frown was on her little face and her tongue was slightly sticking out of her mouth, indicating she was concentrating hard. It was an expression she had actually picked from Adam.  
  
Charles quickly glanced down at the other markers to make sure they were washable. They were. So he let Olivia colored his beard. Years ago he would have stopped her immediately and reprimanded her. But he had learned to "go with the flow" as Delia always said.  
  
Olivia put down the blue marker and turned to pick the pink one before starting to color another part of his beard with it. Charles decided to ask his daughter what she had in mind,  
  
"Sweetheart, what are you doing?" He asked calmly, shutting his computer.  
Olivia looked up at him with her big brown eyes,   
  
"I'm making you rainbow daddy!" She happily exclaimed, "like uncle Beeblejuice!"  
  
She gave him the cutest smile ever and grabbed a green marker before going back to work. Charles sighed. Olivia had developed an obsession with colors at a very young age, mostly due to Beetlejuice doing tricks with his hair to entertain her. She had even learned colors with Beetlejuice. Well, after they taught him colors, since he apparently thought orange was pink.  
  
So Charles sat there, waiting patiently while his daughter colored his beard so he could "be rainbow". He wondered how long it would take Olivia to entirely color it. Probably not too long. Charles looked down at his daughter. She looked so much like him. But she definitely leaned more toward Delia personality wise. He always wondered how their crazy family would influence her upbringing. At first he had been afraid for this innocent child, but more the time passed and more he felt like this would only be something beneficial for his daughter.  
  
Olivia put the green marker, that almost fell from the table but Charles caught it before it did, and grabbed the orange one,  
  
"This one is like mommy!" She said, the statement making Charles melt.  
  
Olivia continued to color Charles's beard for a while. When she was down to the last color, the toddler was interrupted by the front door opening,  
  
"Mommy!"  
  
Olivia scrambled off of his laps, almost falling in the process, and ran in her mother's outstretched arms.  
  
"Hello sweetie!" Cooed Delia, taking her daughter in her arms.  
  
"How was your day Olivia?" Asked the life-coach  
  
"It was great mommy! And look!"   
  
The toddler went back to Charles who was still seated at the table.  
  
"I made daddy rainbow!"  
  
Charles saw the exact moment when Delia saw Olivia's work of art, the confusion on her face quickly replaced by amusement.   
  
"Oh sweetie you did a wonderful job." Praised Delia, making her way toward both her husband and the toddler. "You made daddy very handsome."  
  
Olivia beamed at her mother praise but Charles could still see the amused twinkle in his wife's eyes. It gave him an idea,  
  
"I thought I was already really handsome." He complained playfully.  
  
"Of course you were!" Exclaimed Delia.  
  
Seeing his complain did have the desired effect, he got up and wrapped an arm around her waist, bringing her in for a kiss. Delia let out a little cry of surprise, and Charles pressed his face closer to hers. He only broke away from her when he heard a simultaneous,  
  
"Ewww!"  
  
And,  
  
"Get a room!"  
  
He turned back toward the door where Lydi was, coming home from school,  
  
"Lydia!" Cried Olivia, running toward her sister.  
  
The teenager easily scooped her up in her arms,  
  
"Hey Liv! Do you want to play Just Damce me?"  
  
Olivia's whole face lit up,  
  
"Yay!"  
  
The little girl jumped out of Lydia's arms and ran into the living room. Before following her, the teenager turned to her parents,  
  
"By the way nice rainbow beards you two."  
  
Delia watched her stepdaughter go with some confusion,  
  
"What does she mean rainbow beard..."  
  
She trailed off as she brought her hand to her chin, noticing taces of colors when she looked back at it.  
  
"What the..."  
  
It's only at this moment that she realised Charles was giggling, clearly amused by the fact that he had managed to transfer some of the color applied by Olivia on his beard to Delia's face when he had kiss her.  
  
"Charles!" Scowled Delia, playfully slapping his arm.  
  
Charles took this opportunity, grabbing her hand and lightly tugging on it to bring her against his chest.   
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, lightly caressing her cheek in the process.  
  
"Come on, it was fun. And with the girls occupied with their game. We can have a little bit of time for ourselves." He said suggestively.  
  
"Mmm really?" Asked Delia, her eyes locking on his lips.  
  
Their lips were about to touch, when,  
  
"Mommy!! Come and help me beat Lydia!!"  
  
Charles groaned. It was hard to get some quiet moments with Delia. But his wife just laughed, quickly pecking his lips,  
  
"Come on! I feel like you're eldest might need your help."  
  
Charles chuckled and followed her into the living room. Years ago, Charles would have refused. But it was clear that he had change. Actually, he was feeling more like himself than he ever did.  
  
  
  
  



	23. Pregnancy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Picking up a spoon off of the floor can be tricky when you're seven months pregnant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short and sweet one-shot. I just wanted to write more Pregnant!Delia stuff!  
> Enjoy! :)

Delia was annoyed. Deeply annoyed. It was almost like she couldn't do anything by herself nowadays. Her enlarged belly had become an obstacle to... well, everything in her everyday life. Just climbing up or down the stairs took her for ever. Why did people idealized pregnancy so much? Delia hated being pregnant. Don't get her wrong, she loves the tiny human who'd been growing inside of her for the past seven months more than anything, but she couldn't wait for them to be born.  
  
Right now, the life coach was in the kitchen, glaring at the spoon she had dropped on the floor. She took a deep breath and tried for what seemed like the millionth time to reach it. Without success. The future mother swore under her breath. She just wanted a nice cup of tea. Delia praised herself for being a patient woman, but right now she was really tempted to jump on the spoon until it became a lump of metal and blame her hormones.  
  
"Need some help?"  
  
Delia didn't even raised her head to look at her husband, she kept glaring at the little spoon on the floor.  
  
"No I'm fine." She snapped.  
  
She knew she was being unfair. But she wasn't angry against him but against the spoon. Charles had been nothing but a sweetheart during the pregnancy, an overbearing and overprotective one, but still a sweetheart. But she was tired of needing help to do everything. Charles knew it wasn't against him so he sighed, and took the little spoon off the floor and put it on the table, placing a kiss on his wife's forehead before making himself a cup of coffee.  
  
"I could have done it myself." grumbled Delia.  
  
"Of course honey."   
  
His tone clearly indicating that he didn't believed it one bit. And it annoyed her even more.  
  
"I could have done it by myself! I didn't need your help!"  
  
Once again she hated herself for being like that with him. She loved him dearly and he didn't deserve it. But she was angry and tired and she just wanted a cup of goddam tea!   
Charles was tired too. He was constantly worried over is wife and he had to try to avoid any possible chaos the strange nature of their family could bring upon them.  
Her snapping seemed to have annoyed him as well and Charles walked over the table,   
  
"Well in that case."  
  
And slowly, very slowly, he pushes the spoon off of the edge and it falls back down on the floor. It was childish and In that moment he reminds her of that cat in this video where it pushes a glass off of a table. Charles sat down and start to drink his coffee, and she's back at glaring at the spoon on the floor. She knew she should just apologize and ask him for help. But somehow the pregnancy has brought her stubborn side out, so she tries and tries and fails at getting the spoon. After five long minutes of trying she let out cry of frustration. She could feel Charles stare on her, she could feel the pity in his eyes and she hated it. To her horror and probably Charles's she started crying. Hot tears streaming down her cheeks. She was slightly dizzy and grabbed the chair in front of her to steady her. She heard Charles getting up from his chair,  
  
"Okay that's enough."  
  
The business man bent down easily and fetched the spoon. The dizziness is gone but when she met his eyes, she could see that he felt guilty and it just made her cry even harder. Charles didn't hesitate one second ans enveloped in his embrace. Running his hand gently in her hair, hoping the caress would calm her down. He didn't want he to have a panic attack or for her to faint. It took a little bit of time but it worked. Delia finally managed to say between hiccups,  
  
"I'm... I'm so... sorry."  
  
Charled heart broke slightly. He hated to see her like that.  
  
"It's okay sweetheart. I'm sorry too." He crooned gently.   
  
He broke their embrace and wiped away her tears gently with his thumbs. She felt better but the frustration was still there. She just wanted thing to go back to normal. But of course it was silly. She was going to have a baby. Nothing would be like before. And it was a good thing. She just couldn't wait for their little miracle to be born.  
  
"I'm so tired and sick of this! I just want to be able to do normal stuff." Delia said.  
  
Charles sighed,  
  
"I know Delia. But you're pregnant. With our child," for some reason hearing him say that made her heart swell, "and you need to take it easy. Remember what the doctor said."  
  
She sighed, "I know."  
  
Charles brought his hand on her belly, gently rubbing it, the gesture filled her with warmth.  
  
"Two months. Two months and then we can finally meet them." He muttered.  
  
Delia smiled at him, getting on her toes to press a kiss against his lips.  
  
"I love you." She said.  
  
Charles smiled and returned her kiss,  
  
"I love you too. Now why don't you go back to bed, I'll bring you your tea upstairs."  
  
She opened her mouth to protest but Charles gave her a pointed look and she obliged, leaving the kitchen. Delia smiled, she was really lucky to have Charles. He was the best thing that ever happened to her. Along with the tiny human being they had created together. Lydia, Barbara, Adam and Beetlejuice had been a wonderful bonus too. She loved them all dearly. For the first time in her life, Delia had a real family and she felt happiness swell in her heart. Until she arrived at the foot of the stairs. Dammit. Delia sighed and began the painful ascension. It was going to be two very long months. Maybe she could convince Charles to move in the spare room downstairs.  
  



	24. Opposites attract (Elemental AU)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barbara and Adam are in love. But unable to touch each other. They are elementals. Fire and water. Prophecies are clear their love is doomed. But there are rumors going around the village. And maybe there is hope for them afterall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! An other one-shot! This one is very long! It is a Barbara x Adam centric one with a hint of Delia x Charles.   
> This AU idea is from Blossem12 and Blind-band-geek!
> 
> Just a few things: in this story Barbara and Adam are in their early to mid-twenties. Delia and Charles are in their mid-thirties to early-forfties and Lydia is both Charles and Delia biological daughter.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

Barbara had always liked going to the market. It was a moment she cherished, away from her family and their stupid prophecies. She loved her family dearly of course, but the pressure they put on her could be a little bit much sometimes.  
  
But as she walked through the different aisles of the marketplace, Barbara's mind drifted to Adam. The blonde smiled as she handed the money for the chicken she just bought. A few moments with him had been enough to make her fall for him. Her perfect Adam.   
  
Barbara sighed, their love was impossible. The prophecy was clear. He was a water elemental and she was a fire elemental. If they did such a thing as just touch each other, it would mean chaos for the world. But the blonde woman was torned. What if the prophecy wasn't true? What if it was safe for Adam and her to be together? But if the prophecy was true then what would it mean for their love? Maybe they could try... but her mother's voice immediately appeared in her head : "elementals of opposite elements should never touch each other Barbara!"  
  
Unable to put her mind at peace, Barbara walked to the last stall planned for her trip, the fruit section. But just as she was looking at the different varieties of fruits, the merchant and his wife's conversation picked her interest.  
  
"I am telling you! They have proofs now! Marc said they even found where they live!" Said the wife in a hush tone.  
  
"This is fake Lisbeth! The only thing Marc and his troop are able to find is some pigeons lost in the woods."  
  
Her husband seemed pretty bored by the conversation and Barbara deduced that it was something they had already talked about multiple times. But Lisbeth didn't want to drop the subject,  
  
"Marc is sure of it! They found them! The opposite elemental couple!"  
  
Barbara almost dropped the apple she was holding. Her heart missed a few beats. She quickly put herself together and joined the conversation,  
  
"I'm sorry, I don't want to be rude, but what is this story about opposite elementals?" She asked politely.  
  
The merchant groaned but his wife immediately leaned forward, clearly happy that someone was showing an interest in her story,  
  
"There's that legend about two elementals, opposites elementals. People say that those two elementals fell in love. It was a passionate almost destructive love. But they couldn't touch each other. The prophecies are clear that no elementals of opposite elements should ever touch. But those elementals, they did. They touched each other."  
  
"But that's only that, a legend." The merchant interrupted.  
  
His wife glared at him before turning back to Barbara, who was hanging to her every words,  
  
"No one really knows what happened after they did. Some people say they died almost immediately, some say that it made them crazy and some say nothing happened. But Marc, the hunter,"  
  
Barbara nodded before Lisbeth carried on,  
  
"He said they found them. The couple. They live in Crystal's creek. Not far away from here."  
  
The merchant raised his voice once again.  
  
"If they did found them then why didn't they kill them? After all if this is true they are putting the world in danger!"  
  
Barbara's heart dropped. Was this what the villagers thought? If Adam and her dared to touch, would they kill them?  
  
"They didn't kill them because it was too dangerous!" Snapped Lisbeth, "Afterall they are a light and darkness couple."  
  
Barbara gasped. Elementals were rare. Very few people were actually gifted by these powers. But light and darkness elementals? They were almost non-existent. Barbara had met a few other elementals but never a light or darkness one. And she remembered oh too well the fate that awaited Darkness elementals. People had been so scared of their powers that they executed them as soon as they were discovered. It was believed they were now extinct.  
  
"They didn't kill them because this couple doesn't exist." Said the merchant as he handed Barbara her bag back.  
  
She thanked them and after saying goodbye made her way back home. The chance of another elemental couple existing was weak. And there were no real proofs of Lisbeth's story. But Crystal's Creek wasn't far away from here. Maybe it was their chance to finally get some answers. They had nothing to lose. Once she arrived home, Barbara immediately wrote a message Adam, asking him to meet her tomorrow at their usual spot. As night fell, Barbara's heart filled with hope. Maybe there was a happily ever after for her and Adam afterall.  
  
****************  
  
The next morning, Barbara woke up early, wanting to sneak out of the house before her parents woke up. She carefully closed the door and headed out toward the woods, readjusting her backpack on her shoulders. She had packed everything they could eventually need for their trip to Crystal's Creek. It was a short trip. Not even a two hours walk. But they needed to be prepared for any situations. She just hoped that Adam would be on board for the expedition.  
  
She made a left turn and finally arrived to their meeting point. Adam was already there. He hadn't seen her yet and she took the opportunity given by those few seconds to admire him. He was handsome, gentle, kind, he made her laugh. He was perfectly imperfect. The force of her feelings for him hit her at full speed and only made her more determined to get to the bottom of this opposite elementals couple legend.  
  
With a smile on her face, Barbara took a few steps foward, alerting Adam of her presence. Hearing her steps, he immediately looked up from his book and his face lit up when he saw her. The adoration in his eyes made her heart miss a few beats.  
  
"Hello Barbara!"  
  
She ached to touch him. Hugging him as a greeting. Kissing him. But she couldn't. So she didn't. She smiled back,  
  
"Hey Adam."  
  
He patted the patch of grass next to him,  
  
"You wanted to see me? You said in your message that it was important."  
  
She sat next to him, at a sufficient distance so she was sure they wouldn't inadvertently touch each other,  
  
"Yes it is important."  
  
Adam's eyes never left hers and for a second she got lost in them before starting to explain to him what she had heard at the market. Adam listened intently, nodding here and there.  
  
" It could be our chance Adam! If this couple does exist we could finally get some answers!"  
  
"I don't know Barbara. It could be dangerous. They probably don't want anyone to know where they are. They could attack us. And we're actually not even sure they exist."  
  
Barbara sighed. He was right. But they couldn't let this chance go. She couldn't let the chance to finally get some answers go.  
  
"I know, Adam but see it this way," she turned fully to face him, " we could take a trip to Crystal's Creek, just me and you. If this couple exist and they allow us to ask some questions we ask them, if they don't want to see us then we leave. And if it's just a myth and they don't exist then we can have a nice picnic together."  
  
She raised her backpack and grinned at him,  
  
"I've packed your favorite."  
  
She saw the hesitation in his eyes. But he surrendered,  
  
"Okay. Let's go on that trip. But I am warning you, I never share my favorite food." He said jokingly.  
  
**************  
  
It actually took Barbara and Adam three hours to get to Crystal's Creek instead of two. But at least they now knew neither of them was good with orientation. But finally, they stepped over the small stream and after stepping under a curtain of vines, they reached their destination.  
  
"Oh wow." Said Adam in awe, " this place is beautiful."  
  
Crystal's Creek was surrounded by a multitude of small streams, the water reflecting the sunlight, flowers covered the ground and the whole place was just green and so peaceful.  
  
"It really is" agreed Barbara.  
  
But soon enough, she detached herself from the beautiful almost mystic place, and she looked around, trying to locate a house or something that could resemble an habitation. But the creek was empty. No sign of life except from the two of them. Barbara felt the disappointment hit her. There was no one else there.  
  
"Barbara. Look."   
  
The blonde immediately turned toward Adam. He was pointing at the foot of a massive tree. Barbara stepped closer to him.  
  
"I can't see any..."  
  
Suddenly she saw what Adam had spotted. You had to look at a very specific angle to be able to see it properly. But it was there. The disappointement left her immediately. It was a house. There was someone living here.  
  
"Light elemental." muttered Adam.  
  
He turned toward her,  
  
"Light elementals can redirect light off of an object making it invisible." He pointed at the house, "I'm pretty sure this is the work of a Light elemental."  
  
"Then what are we waiting for Adam? Let's go talk to them!"  
  
She started to walk toward the house before Adam stopped her,  
  
"Barbara wait! We need to be careful. If they start to show any signs of hostility we just go. Okay?"  
  
"Okay."  
  
They smiled at each other and slowly started to make their way to the house. The closer they got to it, the more they started to feel weird. There was another aura emanating from the house. A dark one. It felt almost like a warning. Barbara was surrounded by it, it was the work of a Darkness elemental. So she didn't stop. She needed answers. Finally they both reached the door. She looked at Adam and he nodded. She raised her hand and after a small moment of hesitation, knocked on the door.  
  
Barbara took a step back as the door opened. the dark feeling almost unbarable at this point. A man appeared in the doorway. He was tall, probably in his early-forties, his grey eyes formed a stark contrast with his black hair and beard. He was intimidating and Barbara took another step back almost bumping into Adam.   
  
"What do you want?" the man asked coldly.  
  
Barbara looked at Adam. He looked as intimidated by this man as she was. She took a deep breathe and walked back in front of the man,  
  
"We would like to talk to you."  
  
The man didn't react, still looking at her with the same cold stare.  
  
"We've heard about you. And your partner. People say that you two are an opposite elementals couple."  
  
She saw the man tensed, but before he could say anything, she continued,  
  
"We are like you," she pointed at Adam who walked to her side, "I'm a fire elemental and he's a water elemental and... we're in love."   
  
She heard Adam's sharp intake of breath next to her. They had never voiced their feelings for each other out loud before. But there was no denying that they were in love. She saw something shifts in the man's gaze, his posture slightly less defensive for a fraction of a second. Silenced enveloped the three of them, the man clearly not knowing if he could trust them or not.  
  
"Charles?"  
  
Barbara looked over the man's, Charles apparently, shoulder, a woman was walking toward them. She was short, with bright red hair piled on her head in a complicated bun. Her wide brown eyes were warm and her bright purple dress was a stark contrast with Charles's dark suit. She had to be the light elemental. The women's eyes settled over them and Barbara held her breath, not knowing how she would react to their presence. Charles spoke,  
  
"These two say they are opposite elementals. And that they are in love. They want to talk to us."  
  
Even if he was clearly speaking to the woman beside him, Charles's eyes never left Barbara and Adam. They both held their breath as they waited for the woman's reaction.  
  
"Aw that's so romantic!" The redhead exclaimed, pushing Charles aside, "Come in!"  
  
"Delia..." Charles warned.  
  
The woman, Delia, turned to him,  
  
"They're just children Charles. They're not going to hurt us." Her gaze settled back on the young couple. "And if they try we're more than capable to defend ourselves."  
  
Barbara didn't miss the warning in Delia's eyes. She looked towards Adam. They communicated wordlessly for a moment before Adam nodded and spoke for the first time,  
  
"We'd be honored to come in. And don't worry we just want to talk."   
  
His voice was steady but Barbara could feel that he was anxious. She wanted to take his hand in hers. But she refrained herself from doing that. Finally, Charles stepped aside, allowing them to step in the house.  
  
Once they were inside, Barbara admired the house. It was lightly decorated with warm colors, making it look very cozy and welcoming. She was also very surprised by the strong smell of flowers floating in the air. There were tiny sculptures scattered around, obviously hand-made. Those were creepy, decided Barbara as she followed Delia in what was probably the living room, she could feel Adam jumped slightly behind her as Charles closed the door.  
  
"Please, take a seat!" Said Delia gesturing to the chairs around the table.  
  
Barbara was the first to take a seat, Adam promptly taking the chair beside her.  
  
"Would you like something to drink, water? Coffee? Tea?"  
  
"No thank you." Politely answered Adam.  
  
Now sure that they didn't need anything, Delia took the seat opposite Adam's. She seemed so optimistic and kind, Barbara wondered if it was a common trait in a Light elementals. Charles sat next to Delia stiffly, clearly not please at having people I his house. His cold demeanor was probably due to the fact that he was a Darkness elemental, thought Barbara.  
Delia broke the awkward silence,  
  
"So, why did you want to meet us?"  
  
It was only now that Barbara realized that she was finally going to get some answers about one of the biggest question of her life. Yet she didn't say anything. She had so many things to say and ask she didn't even know where to start. To her surprise, Adam was to one to speak first,  
  
"This thing about... about opposites elementals not allowed to... to touch each other.... is it true?"  
  
He was nervous and Barbara found that adorable.   
  
"Well," started Delia, "Technically it is forbidden for two opposites elementals to touch each other. But it doesn't necessarily mean you can't."  
  
The redhead didn't hesitate, she grabbed Charles's hand and laced their fingers together. Barbara held her breath, waiting for the chaos that was supposed to come, for the sky to fall on their heads. But nothing happened. The world kept on spinning.   
  
"So... So all we've been told our whole life is a lie?"   
  
Barbara had wanted that answer from the moment she met Adam. Yet she was angry. She had been lied to since she was a baby. And a part of her was still scared for her future.  
  
"That's not that simple." Charles's deep voice startled her, "We took a risk." He turned toward his wife, "and we're glad we took it. But we didn't know what could have happened."  
  
So they were back at the start. Basically they didn't know what would happen if they decided to touch. Nothing could happen or the world could implode. An other thought came to her,  
  
"You are hunted." The blonde said, "people want to harm you just because you're in love. That's not fair."  
  
Delia smiled, "it is. But they're just scared. And we're fine living here. As long as we're with each other."  
  
Barbara could swear she saw Charles blushed. Adam spoke once again,  
  
"Is it difficult to maintain the protections you put in place? Because the dark atmosphere is really effective!"   
  
He nodded toward Charles who frowned,  
  
"I don't maintain the "dark atmosphere", Delia does."  
  
Oh that was a twist she hadn't seen coming. Delia laughed, at her confusion,  
  
"I am the Darkness elemental. Charles is the Light elemental."  
  
Barbara couldn't believe that the doe-eyed, bright, gentle woman in front of her could be a darkness elemental. Once again the idea that darkness elementals were mean, dangerous being seemed ridiculous now. Another lie she had been told all her life.  
Adam's face was bright red. He was clearly embarrassed by his mistake,  
  
"Oh I'm sorry I just..."  
  
Charles interrupted him,  
  
"It's okay. The few people we met often make this mistake."   
  
Barbara felt Adam relax beside her. Silence fell on the room. Barbara knew that taking the decision to touch was their own only, but she couldn't help but ask,  
  
"Do you think we should do it? Touch each other I mean?"  
  
Delia gave her a small smile,  
  
"It's a decision only you two can make. The only thing I can tell you is that I never regretted..."  
  
But before she could finish her sentence, a fifth figure entered the room,  
  
"Mom, Dad! Look what I..."  
  
The girl was probably around 12. She was dressed all in black. Her hair was a mess of black curls. She stopped dead in her track when she spotted the two unexpected guests, dropping the plant she was holding, the pot shattering on the floor. As the girl was raising her hands in a defensive manner, Charles got up,  
  
"Lydia it's okay. They're not dangerous."  
  
He put an arm around the young girl's shoulder. Around his daughter's shoulder. Barbara couldn't believe it. They had daughter. Not only were they able to be together, they had a child together. The tension in the room was still high. Charles had gone back to a defensive position and Barbara could feel that their short conversation had come to an end.  
  
"If you don't have any more questions, I think it's best if you leave."  
  
Delia's voice was kind. But there was no arguing. Barbara and Adam got up,  
  
"It's okay. It's getting late anyway. Our parents are going to worry if we don't get home soon." Adam said.  
  
Delia and Charles accompanied them back to the entrance. Barbara's mind was reeling, she had thousands of questions but soon enough they were standing outside, back in the Creek. Barbara turned back to face the older couple,  
  
"Thank you. For answering our questions."  
  
Delia gave her a warm smile,  
  
"Thank you for coming to visit! Don't hesitate to come back sometime!"  
  
"Delia..." Charles groaned,  
  
"What?"  
  
Charles shook his head, turning back to their guests,  
  
"Good luck you two."  
  
He closed the door and the house disappeared. Well, turned invisible was actually a more accurate term. They stood there for a moment before Adam spoke softly,  
  
"We should go Barbara."  
  
She gave him a small smile and nodded.   
They walked in silence. Barbara was thinking, trying to take a decision. She looked at Adam who was walking in front of her. She loved him. She wanted to be happy with him. But if it had worked for Delia and Charles, would it work for them too? There was no way of knowing what would happen. Was it selfish? To choose happiness over possibly the fate of the entire world? She hadn't realised Adam had stopped walking and almost bumped into him.  
  
"Adam? What..."  
  
"Let's do it."  
  
He sounded so determined, Barbara felt her heart missed a beat. Was he really asking her what she thought he was asking?  
  
"Adam, what do you mean?"  
  
He turned to face her. His face was a mask of determination but she still could see a little bit of fear in them. But he didn't give up,  
  
"Let's touch each other! Let's be happy! Together."  
  
Barbara could hear the blood in her ears. It looked like Adam had came to a decision before she did. And she was okay with it. Yet, she couldn't help but think about the possible consequences,  
  
"But, what if...."  
  
"To hell with "what if"s. I love you Barbara. And there's nothing that would make happier than you coming with me."  
  
She had never seen Adam so passionate. She loved it. But Adam wasn't done,  
  
"So what if the world ends? Our lives end with it and that's it! But if we have a chance... if we can have a family, be a family then I'm willing to take that risk and hide somewhere with you! As long as we are together I'm willing to go to the end of the world with you."  
  
Barbara and Adam looked into each other's eyes for a long moment before Adam outstretched his hand,  
  
"So, what do you say?"  
  
Barbara shakily brought her hand up. This was it. The moment she gave up everything she believed in regarding opposite elementals. She had decided. She wanted to be happy. With Adam. Fire and water were about to clash together. Just as her hand met Adam's, Barbara closed her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it! I am currently Not planning on releasing a part 2 of this.  
> If you liked it don't hesitate to leave kudos or comments! :)


	25. Innocent Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beeteljuice is taking care of Olivia when he accidently hurts her. Delia now has to comfort her daughter but also her sort-of adoptive demonic son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Olivia and Beetljuice one-shot!  
> This one was a request from CharlieBear! I hope you'll like it!  
> Enjoy! :)

Child’s laughter filled the Deetzes’s house. Olivia was now seven months old and she was growing up fast. The baby was currently entertained by Beetlejuice. The demon felt more at ease around her than he had been since her birth. He was currently alone in the playroom with her, something he would have never done before. Of course, he knew that Delia was only a few rooms away if anything happened. But since the moment he first took the youngest Deetz family member in his arms, the demon had sworn he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

Olivia was in the stage where she was begging to crawl, happily exploring her surroundings. As soon as she was getting to far away from him for his liking, Beetlejuice would just levitate her back near him. He did just that, and the little girl let out a cry of surprise as she rose into the air. He brought her back right into his laps, holing her upright.

“Hey you.” He grumbled

Olivia gave him one big toothless smile and his hair change to a light pink. Good this child was going to be the death of him. Well his afterdeath? Was it a thing? Olivia began to move a lot in his arms, trying to break free of his hold.

“okay, okay, calm down. You can go back on the floor.”

Beetlejuice, lifted her up slightly so that he could bring her back down. but Olivia was fidgeting a lot and her tiny hand accidently scratched against his nails. Beetlejuice’s nails were short but somehow, they were also kind of sharp, so the fragile baby skin was easily scratched by it. The tiniest drop of blood fell down on the floor. It wasn’t a serious injury. It couldn’t even qualify as an injury. But, Olivia was a baby. So, she did exactly what any baby would have done. She stopped moving, her wide eyes filled with tears and she started crying.

Beetlejuice froze. He didn’t understand why she was crying. But he was terrified. That’s when he noticed the little scratch on her hand. He had done that. His heart dropped in his chest. He had hurt her. He had hurt this innocent precious child. He didn’t know what to do. Olivia was crying because of him. It was getting hard to breath. He couldn’t be trusted. He was a demon for god’s sake. He could only hurt her. Beetlejuice felt sick. His hair had turned a dark shade of black with little specks of dark purple.

“What is going on in here?”

Delia. She was going to hate him. He had hurt her daughter. But for some reason, the woman didn’t seem upset.

“Beetlejuice?”

He couldn’t answer. Delia seemed to notice his state of panic and gently took the little girl in her arms. She cooed in her daughter ear, rocking her gently until Olivia finally quieted down. She examined the little girl. She seemed perfectly fine. Then, the redhead noticed the tiny scratch on her hand. Oh, this is why she was crying. Nothing to worry about then. The life coach smiled and Olivia smiled back, the pain of the tiny scratch already forgotten. Delia turned back to Beetlejuice. He was in the corner of the room, his knees brought up against his chest, his head buried in them. He was shaking. Delia wanted to comfort him too. She gently put Olivia down in her crib.

Delia turned back toward the demon. He looked completely shaken up and it broke her heart. He had been so much help with Olivia. And the little girl absolutely adored him. For a moment the life-coach hesitated but she made her way toward him. She gently kneeled in front of him.

“Beetlejuice?”

He didn’t answer. Delia sighed, she softly put a hand over his but he flinched away.

“Beetlejuice, it’s alright. She’s okay.” She said softly.

“But I hurt her.”

His voice was shaking and barely above a whisper. But he was speaking. It was a good sign at least. Delia put her hand above his again and this time, he didn’t flinch away. Good.

“It’s okay Beetlejuice. She’s perfectly fine.”

The demon raised his head. His eyes were wide and he was still breathing hard.

“But she was bleeding.” His voice shook with every word.

Delia patted his hand gently,

“It was hardly a drop.”

“But she was crying so hard.”

“She’s a baby, Beej. Something didn’t feel right so she cried. It’s her way to express herself. It’s the way every baby would have reacted.”

His hair change to black to purple. Delia took that as a good sign.

“Still, I’m a demon. I shouldn’t be touching her. I’m just going to hurt her more.”

Delia drew him into a hug. To her surprise, he didn’t show any resistance and melted into her embrace,

“I just hurt anyone I touch. I’m an idiot and I shouldn’t be able to love anyone. My mom was right.”

Delia quickly realized that the incident with Olivia had awakened some deeper trauma. She tightened her embrace around him. Hatred for Juno flared on her. Beetlejuice was still a child. Well a millennium old, actually grown up, child but he never had the chance to grow up with a loving family. Delia wanted nothing more than to give him the motherly love he never had. She knew how insecure, shitty parents could make you be. Charles had helped her a lot with her own insecurities. Maybe she could help Beetlejuice with his.

“You’re not an idiot Beetlejuice. You are free to love anyone you want and Olivia adores you. If you suddenly stop seeing her and playing with her, she’s going to be even sadder.”

Purple to light blue. Good. She gently ran a hand in his hair, hoping it would sooth him,

“She loves you so much Beetlejuice. You’re part of the family.”

“I don’t have a family.”

But his embrace tightened around her and Delia sighed.

“Of course, you have a family Beetlejuice. You have us. You’re as much a part of this family as the Maitlands are… Or as I am.”

Blue to deep green. Good. She kept running her hand in his hair. His breathing was back to normal. After a few minutes he pulled back from the embrace. His hair was back to it’s usual electric green and Delia smiled. But Beetlejuice seemed embarrassed.

“Uh… Thanks Deidra.”

“You’re welcome Beetlejuice.” Her voice was back to her usual peppier tone.

The demon got up and walked to Olivia’s crib. He didn’t make any movement to take her out of it. The baby was looking up at him with her wide crown eyes, she recognized him immediately and gave him one of her big baby smiles. Beetlejuice smiled. The tip of his hair becoming slightly pink.

“I’m sorry little one. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He said in his raspy voice.

Olivia looked puzzle. She had clearly forgotten about the incident already. Or maybe she just didn’t understand what he was saying. She was a baby Afterall. The demon hesitated. Maybe a few days in the Netherworld would be good for him. He hadn’t gone there for a long time now. Seeing Tina again could be good. He missed the receptionist.  He turned back to Delia who was watching him with one of her big smiles. Definitely a feature she had given to her daughter.

“Uh I think I’m going to head for the Netherworld for a while.”

Delia smiled flattered, “Oh.”

“It’s not because of what happened. Well… I mean… I need sometime to myself. And I… I have a family back there too. It would be good to see them.”

Delia’s smile was back on her face,

“Oh then it’s fine! You’re right, it’s important to take some time for yourself.”

She walked toward him and took four little stones out of her pockets. Beetlejuice always wondered how the redhead could keep so many little stones on her. It seemed like she had an endless stack of them hidden somewhere.

“You should take that with you. It’s citrine, rhodonite and lapis-lazuli, together they help with self-confidence. Oh, and this one is a blue kyanite. It’s a protection stone for family members.”

Beetlejuice’s hair turned fully pink and back to it’s normal green in less than a second.

“Uh. Thanks Deborah.”

He turned back toward the wall and opened a door to the Netherworld. He was about to step in when Delia’s voice interrupted him,

“Wait Beetlejuice.”

He turned back toward the woman who had taken Olivia out of her crib and was holding her out toward him,

“You can’t go without saying goodbye to Olivia.”

Beetlejuice hesitated before leaning to press a kiss to the baby chubby cheek. Olivia let out a cry of delight as his beard scratched her face. She extended her tiny arms toward him. Beetlejuice melted and took one of her tiny hand in his, the one with the scratch. He bent down and placed a kiss on making the tiny mark disappeared.

“Bye babes! I’ll be back soon.”

And with a final smile he stepped into the Netherworld. He could hear Tina’s voice from here, she was probably screaming at someone for being an idiot. Beetlejuice’s smile broadened. It felt good to be back. But he could feel the stones still in his pocket, reminding him that he had a new family now. Yeah… He wouldn’t be away for long.


	26. Pokemon AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Delia finds a bunch of mimikyus and decides to bring them home!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn’t help myself and wrote a pokemon Au following @mehreel posts on tumblr!  
> Enjoy! :)

Delia was happy with herself. She had managed to do everything she wanted and even got some berries for the pokemons. Her Spoink would be very happy about that. The life-coach started to make her way home, tightening her coat around herself as the rain started to fall.

“Great.” Muttered the woman.

Delia hurried down the street. It was getting late and she wanted to be home before dark. But as she was about to enter the woods that would lead her the fastest to her house, Delia heard weird sounds coming from behind a tree. At first, the redhead didn’t really want to know what was behind that tree but as she got closer, the sound became familiar. It couldn’t be… But the sound almost similar to nails against a chalkboard could only come from one thing.

“Mimikyus…”

Delia had been to Alola once. Well her parents having no choice than to bring her with them was the only reason she had ended in the paradisiac islands. Delia had met so many pokemons in Alola, including mimikyus. But what were mimikyus doing in Unova? Delia got closer to the tree and noticed the cage at its feet. Her heart broke at the sight. At least seven or eight mimikyus were packed in a small cage and were crying, probably of fear or rage. What kind of monsters could do that to pokemons? Carefully, the woman approached the cage, the mimikyus only cried louder as they saw her.

“No, No! Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you.” She said in a soft voice.

One of the mimikyus was hurt, his Pikachu costume ripped badly. They needed help. Delia sighed. The Pokemon center was on the other side of town. But she couldn’t leave them here. Slowly, Delia took the cage, the mimikyus cried harder and Delia tried to sooth them the best she could. As soon as they were calmer, Delia made her way back into town.

 

***************

Forty minutes later, Delia finally reached the Pokemon center. She was soaked to the bone, having put her coat on the cage so the Mimikyus wouldn’t get wet.

“Hello and welcome to the Pokemon center. How may I help you?” said Nuer Joy as the life-coach redhead the counter.

“Hello. Uh… I found those Mimikyus in the forest.”

Delia put the cage on the counter as delicately as possible and pulled back her coat. Nurse Joy was as shocked as she had been when she discovered the little pokemons.

“Oh, the poor things! They were probably victims of illegal pokemons trades. There are no other ways they would have end up here. But don’t worry, we’re going to take good care of them!”

The pink-haired woman took the cage, “you can wait here if you want, it shouldn’t be long.”

Nurse Joy disappeared in the back room and Delia sat heavily in the chair. She was freezing.

“Audino?”

Delia’s head snapped back up as the Pokemon center’s Audino offered her a cup of tea,

“Oh, thank you very much.” Said Delia as she took the cup gratefully.

The pokemon smiled and disappeared behind the door. Probably to help nurse Joy. Delia had always loved Audinos. They had one at home. It was the one that had taken care of Emily when she started to get sick. And he had taken care of Charles and Lydia after Emily’s passing. He was an important part of the family. Delia happily sipped the tea when she was interrupted by the buzzing of her phone. Taking it out of her pocket, Delia cursed. Three missed calls from Charles and even one from Lydia. She immediately called her husband back. It only rang two times before he picked up,

“Delia! Where the hell are you? Are you alright? You should have been home almost an hour ago!”

He had clearly panicked and Delia tried to ease his mind the best she could,

“I’m fine Charles. I’m sorry I didn’t see the time. I’m at the pokemon center.”

“At the pokemon center? Delia…”

She immediately interrupted him,

“I know Charles but they were all alone in the rain I couldn’t leave them!”

Bringing home hurt or lost pokemons home had become an habit for Delia and you could say that Charles was unpleased by it at least.

Charles sighed. He loved Delia dearly and her kindness and her need to help others was definitely one of the things that made him fall helplessly in love with her, but sometimes he wished she wouldn't be so kind.

“Just… Please… Get home.”

“I will Charles. As soon as I get the pokemons back!”

“Delia…”

But Nurse Joy reappeared with the mimikyus, giving Delia a good ecuse to hang up.

“Oh, they’re ready! I have to go Charles! Love you!”

Delia barely heard the ““They”? Wait Delia how many pokemons are we talking…”, before she hung up.

“Here they are! We found a bigger cage so you can bring them home!” exclaimed Nurse Joy “There are ten of them all in perfect conditions! Although one is a little bit tiny for this species.”

She pointed to the Mimikyu who was standing in the middle of the cage, barely moving. It was really tiny and looked absolutely terrified. It needed love and gentleness and Delia was ready to give him just that.

“So, I’ll take it you will foster them until we can send them back safely to Alola?”

“Of course!” exclaimed Delia, taking the cage, “Thank you very much Nurse Joy.”

“You’re welcome and we’re hoping to see you again soon!”

With a final goodbye, Delia made her way outside. It was still raining so she put her coat back on the cage to protect the little pokemons. Delia stepped into the rain and took the direction of her home. There weren’t any cabs she could call and the buses weren’t running at this hour and she didn’t want to anger Charles more by asking him to come and get her. So, she started to walk, hoping she wouldn’t come across any other pokemons on her way.

******************

“I’m home!” Delia said as she finally entered the house.

She gently put the cage down as she tried to control her shaking. She had walked for almost an hour under the rain and she was absolutely freezing.

“Delia?”

Charles came out from the kitchen, immediately walking toward her.

“Finally! I was beginning to worry… Oh my god! Delia you’re absolutely drenched!”

Charles made his way to his wife, quickly putting his hands on her arms, stroking them as he hoped to warm her up.

“You’re freezing. You should have called for me! I would have come and get you Delia.”

“I… I didn’t want you to be mad at me.” Delia stuttered, her teeth clattering because of the cold.

The business man sighed,

“Delia I’m not mad. And I would have rather be mad at you than you catching your death out there.”

She was about to say something when the screeching coming from the cage interrupted them.

“Uh… If you don’t mind me asking… What kind of pokemon make that horrible sound?”

Delia took her coat of the cage, revealing the mimikyus.

“It’s Mimikyus. They’re from Alola. Nurse Joy think they were the victims of illegal trafficking. I agreed to foster them until they could send them back to Alola safely.”

Charles had never seen mimikyus before. The little things were making horrible sounds. But he couldn’t help but feel sorry for the little things. They looked scared. But there were so many of them.

“Achoo!”

The noise made him jump, turning back to Delia. She was still shaking.

“Audino?” the man called over his shoulder.

The pokemon immediately appeared behind him,

“Can you take care of those Mimikyus please? Settle them in the play room?”

The healer pokemon nodded happily taking the cage upstairs. Charles turned back toward his wife,

“And you are going to take a hot shower to warm you up.”

Delia was more than happy to agree with him and let him guide her upstairs.

***************

Thirty minutes later, Delia felt a lot better, the hot shower doing wonders. She was no longer cold and carefully made her way to the playroom. As she opened the doors, Delia could hear the different pokemons inside. She was happy to see that all the Mimikyus but one had come out of the cage and were now playing with the other pokemons. Spoink and Beetlejuice’s Gengas seemed happy to have new companions and Audino was watching over them.

Delia carefully sat down on the floor, her back against the wall. She loved seeing pokemons happy. She was a little bit worried about the Mimikyu still in the cage. It was the tiny one. It seemed to shy. But Delia knew better than to pressure the little creature. Afterall it had only arrived in its new home less than an hour ago. Suddenly, a cup of warm tea appeared in front of her.

“Thank you.”

She gratefully took the cup as Charles settled beside her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. They stayed like that for a while, watching the pokemon interact, until Charles broke the silence,

“Why do they wear those rags?”

Delia took a deep breath, she had studied the different kind of pokemon and their story and she knew the mimikyu’s one oh too well,

“It’s said that is you look at a Mimikyu’s true form can kill you. Because of that people got scared of them and wouldn’t approach them anymore. But they were lonely so they tried to disguise themselves as one of the most beloved pokemon to try to gain back the heart of the people.” She paused slightly before adding, “They just want some love.”

She rested her head on Charles shoulder, letting the comfortable silence envelop them. Well almost silent since the ten Mimikyus kept on making that terrifying, raspy sound.

"God... it's like having ten high pitched Beetlejuices running around..." lamented Charles.

But Delia could hear the touch of fondness in his voice. She knew that despite what he wanted people to see, Charles was actually a sensitive man. And she knew he was already getting attached to the Mimikyus. And that he had actually come to see Beetlejuice as a sort-of son. Delia was about to say something when a violent shudder went through Charles,

"What the..."

The business man raised his arm. Hanging on for dear life to his sleeve was the tiny mimikyu that had refused to leave the cage before. The tiny pokemon was emitting tiny distressed sounds. It didn't like to be in the air apparently.

"Okay, okay! Stop making that horrible sounds." Grumbled Charles as he lowered his arm. "Here you go."

But the tiny pokemon didn't let go. It kept tugging on Charles's sleeve. The man turned toward Delia, confusion etched on his face, but the woman just shrugged as confused as her husband by the comportment of the yellow pokemon. The Mimikyu, with a little bit of effort, managed to climb on Charles's arm and slowly but surely made its way to his shoulder. The two adults watched in amazement as the small pokemon actually kept on going until it was settled on the man's head.

"Great. Now it's on my head."

Charles tried to reach for the pokemon but as soon as his hands would get close to it, the tiny thing would hiss.

"Okay. Stay here then. But you'll have to come down eventually."

Charles was surprised by Delia's giggle.

"What?" He asked his wife.

"I think it likes you." The red-haired said laughter in her eyes. "And you're so tall and it's so tiny... the combination is actually kind of cute."

Charles sighed, "We can't keep them Delia."

To his surprise Delia nodded,

"I know. But we'll need to keep them for a while so we can find a safe way to send them back to Alola."

After a small silence, Delia finally said,

“It’s getting late, we should go to bed.”

The couple got up. They tried to pry the tiny Mimikyu from Charles’s head but t didn’t want to let go so they just gave up and made their way to their bedroom. As they got into bed, the mimikyu finally let go and climbed down from Charles head and settled on their night-table.

Charles laid down and wrapped his arms around Delia,

“Curse you and your big heart.” He muttered, kissing her forehead.

Delia let out a small giggle, “But that’s why you love me.”

Charles smiles, running a hand in her hair. “Yes, it is. Goodnight love.”

“Goodnight Charles.”

A tiny screeched echoed her. The Mimikyu felt clearly at home. Charles decided he would look if there was a possible and legal way to adopt a Mimikyu. But just one. Or maybe two…


	27. Worry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Delia doesn’t come home. Charles worries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this one is just a short, sweet, with a dash of angst, Delia x Charles one-shot! Enjoy!

Charles tossed and turned. He couldn’t sleep. After a few minutes he finally gave up and threw the covers away from him. He looked at the clock, 1:09am. With a sigh, Charles turned to the empty space beside him. He needed to do something. So, he made his way downstairs.

  
Charles hesitated a moment before sitting on the couch and turning the TV on. He hoped the white noise would help him calm down. But he found himself glancing at the clock, 1:14am.

  
“Dammit where is she?” Charles muttered.

  
Delia had gone to New-York for the day. She wanted to meet with some friends and shop for a few things that probably included art supplies and crystals. She had promised him to be back before dinner. The last text he got from her was at 4pm. He had no news since then. He was worried sick. It wasn’t like Delia to disappear like that. Quickly, grabbing his phone, Charles dialed her number,

  
“Hello! This is Delia Deetz, ex-model, now life-coach! I can’t be reach at the moment but think positive and leave me a message!”  
Charles sighed, every time he had tried to reach her it would go straight to voicemail. He had been calling her almost non-stop for the past few hours but still decided to leave a message,

  
“Yes Delia. It’s me. Again. Listen, I’m really worried. It’s almost one thirty in the morning and I don’t have any news on where you are. Please, please, call me back.”

  
And he hung up. His brain immediately took him to dark places. Maybe she was in trouble, maybe the car broke down, or maybe she had an accident. New-York was a dangerous town, maybe she had been attacked, maybe she was hurt and alone somewhere… With a groan, Charles buried his head in his hands. Minutes ticked-by and it was nearing one-thirty. Maybe he should call the police. He was seriously starting to consider this option when he heard a car park in front of the house. Charles froze. Then he heard the key turning into the front door’s lock. He bolted from the couch and ran to the front door. Sure, enough Delia was closing back the front door when he arrived.  
“Where the hell were you?!”

  
Delia jumped at his cry. With a hand over her heart, she turned toward her husband. Charles was looking at her with wide eyes, too many emotions in them for her to read. He looked like he hadn’t slept. She was so tired she just wanted to go to bed, she definitely wanted to avoid a fight right now. But before she could say anything, Charles raised his voice once again,

  
“It’s one-thirty in the morning Delia! I was worried sick! I tried to call you! Dammit, where were you?!”

  
She put her hands in front of her in a peaceful gesture, hoping that he would calm down.

  
“I’m sorry honey. I really am. But there was a huge accident on the road just outside New-York and we stayed stuck forever!” she said, hoping her explanation would calm him. But it didn’t,

  
“Why didn’t you just tell me? You could have called me!” he exclaimed.

  
Charles was about to say something else but Delia interrupted him,

  
“I wanted to! But I ran out of battery and I had no other way to tell you! I’m sorry Charles. I didn’t know you would worry that much.”

  
Charles looked at her in disbelief,

“Of course, I would worry Delia! You’re my wife. I love you. You disappeared without a word! Do you really think I wouldn’t worry about you?”

  
“It’s just…” she hesitated, “No one ever really worried about me before.”

  
Charles sighed, running a hand through his hair. He knew she didn’t mean to make him sick with worry. Yet she did. But she was here, safe and sound. That was the most important thing. She was alright and that was what mattered the most. Without a word, Charles took a step forward and enveloped her in his arms. Soon after her arms wrapped around him and he took a deep breath, the smell of her shampoo helping him to calm down.

  
“Never.Do.That.To.Me.Again.” he whispered in her ear, tightening his embrace with each word.

  
He could fell her sinking a little bit more in his arms.

  
“I’m sorry Charles.”

  
He sighed, placing a kiss on her forehead,

  
“It’s okay. I’m sorry I yelled. I was just so worried.”

  
He could feel her chuckle, her breath hitting his chest,

  
“Next time I’ll definitely take a power bank with me.” She looked up at him, “Wouldn’t want you to worry too much.”

  
Charles gently cupped her cheek, enjoying the feel of her smooth skin under his fingers. The worry was slowly fading away. He was just happy she was home safe and sound. Charles leaned down and captured her lips in a deep kiss. It lasted for a few minutes before Delia pulled away. She was slightly breathless from the kiss but couldn’t stifle her yawn. Charles laughed,

  
“I know I’m not prince charming but I didn’t expect my kiss to have the opposite effect and put you to sleep.”

  
“No don’t worry, your kisses are amazing,” Delia said, getting on her toes to peck his lips softly, “it’s just that it’s been a long day and I just want to go to bed.”

  
Charles had to admit that he was exhausted too. He had fought sleep as long as he didn’t know if Delia was alright or not, and now that she was back in his arms, sleep seemed like a very, very appealing option. He ran his hand down her arm and laced their fingers together,

  
“Let’s go to bed then.”

  
Delia smiled and happily let him guide her upstairs. She was happy to be home. She put her pajamas on and climbed into bed. It felt good to be finally able to lie down after such a long day. Delia could feel the mattress dipped as Charles climbed next to her, his chest pressed against her back and his arms around her waist. She smiled as she felt him place a kiss in her hair,

  
“Good night Love.” He muttered in her ear.

  
“Goodnight Charles.” She answered, feeling her heart swell like evrytime he called her “love”.

  
Yes, it was good to be home.


End file.
